A Place We Call Home
by Withering Princess
Summary: SASUSAKU. Sakura, a lonesome, overprotected girl meets Sasuke, a guy who has a reputation for being the school's bad boy & heartthrob. From an unexpected meeting starts a tale of two people who were worlds apart who found home in each other's hearts.
1. Nobody's Life Is Perfect

**A Place We Call Home**

By: Withering Princess

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto because if I own it, I probably would be rich by now…

**A/n:** Please read the notes below the story, I might say something that would interest you there.

**Chapter 1: Nobody's Life is Perfect**

"Good morning, Hinata-chan!" a 17-year old highschool student greeted her friend as she sat on her seat right in front of the teacher's desk. Running a hand through her pink hair, he hastily opened her bag and pulled out a thick history book and began to read. Carefully, the pearl-eyed girl craned her neck to see what her friend is reading.

"Uhm… Sakura-chan… we're not going to discuss that topic until next week… Why are you reading it?" the pearl-eyed girl shyly asked her friend who was being a bit too advanced with her studies. She knew that her friend wanted to maintain her good grades but it doesn't mean that you have to study a certain topic a week ahead.

The pink-haired girl slowly closed her book and smiled at her friend. "Hinata-chan, you know that I can't afford to risk my grades. Even if I do want to relax and unwind just for a while, I can't… you know, my parents expect too much for me. I can't fail them." She explained. Truly, she really did want to take a rest from all of these studies, but she cant. Sakura's parents are simply demanding and overprotective to boost. They would get mad at Sakura whenever she got a score below 95 at exams and she still isn't allowed to go out and hang out with her friends at the mall. They even are nosy, always asking what she did that day at school and asking who she talked to at the phone and what they talked about.

Hinata sighed and smiled. "Okay, I understand, Sakura-chan. You just too kind to disobey your parents…" she stated as she sat down next to her best friend. Sakura has been her best friend since grade school. She has been the witness to all of Sakura's hardships just to please her parents. She knew Sakura was struggling inside and often wondered how could she hide that loneliness inside of her by putting up a cheery façade. She doesn't get it why she tries to keep her sadness to herself and act as though there's nothing wrong. Nevertheless, she idolized her best friend for being strong and resilient throughout all of those things happening in her life.

Then, the door opened revealing their English teacher, Kurenai. The crimson-eyes woman proceeded to her desk and greeted the class. The class greeted her back and she began to start the lesson. "Please turn your books to page 48 and kindly read Shakespeare's sonnet 116, miss Haruno." Kurenai said as she wrote 'sonnet 116' on the board.

Gently, Sakura stood up and inhaled deeply. With her clear, distinct voice she read aloud.

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments, love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds

Or bends with the remover to remove;

O no: it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks at tempests and is never shaken:

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken

Love's not time's fool, thought rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and week,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error, and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

Sakura sat down as soon as she finished reading the sonnet. Unknown to her, a certain raven-haired lad was standing outside the classroom door, listening to her voice as she was reading the sonnet.

"Mister Uchiha, I know you are there, so won't you come in and give me an explanation on why you are late… again." Kurenai-sensei sternly ordered, emphasizing on the word 'again'. Deliberately, the door slid open, revealing the Uchiha lad, wearing his usual emotionless expression on his handsome face, which made his fangirls drool. Without speaking, the Uchiha paced through the classroom and plopped himself on his seat which is at the far right corner of the classroom, near the window. His action earned him a glare from their teacher. "Mister Uchiha, I'm waiting for you explanation." She snapped.

The raven-haired lad returned the glare. "I overslept. Satisfied?" came his abrupt answer. He stared at the teacher coolly and waited for her anger to erupt, as she did as always, but it did not come. Instead, a smirk played on the teacher's lips, which stirred anger a bit.

"I see… Oversleeping has been your hobby lately, Uchiha. Well, what else should we expect from you, who have absolutely no parents that could have guided to a better behavior, unlike Miss Haruno here…" Kurenai-sensei stated as she glanced at Sakura who was sitting in front of her.

The sudden mention of her name made her stiffen. 'Why does everyone else in my class always have to be compared to me when they make mistakes?' Sakura thought as she stared the speck of dirt next to her nicely shined shoes she was wearing. 'It's not like I'm enjoying the so-called guidance my parents are giving me. No, guidance is not the world… it's more like total control.' Certain memories flashed through her mind.

:: flashback ::

"Mom, can I go to Hinata's place on Saturday? It's her birthday and everyone's going to be there." Sakura asked her mom who was comfortably sitting on the sofa and reading the newspaper.

"No." came her mother's stiff reply. Sakura's heart felt heavy as she heard those words. "You can't go to that stupid party on Saturday. Don't you realize that your exams are in two weeks time? Why waste you time on going to that worthless friend's birthday when you can spend it on studying?! And what if something happens to you in there?" her mom lectured her.

"But mom-" Sakura started but she was cut off by her mother.

"No buts Sakura, okay? We're doing this for your own sake don't you know?! Now go upstairs to your room and review, or I'd personally drag you there!" her mom yelled at her. Sakura sighed in defeat and hid her eyes behind her pink hair. She felt warm tears welling up in her eyes as she ran upstairs to her room. It was always like that. She had no freedom to do what she wants or go where she wants to go. She felt like a robot, made to things that she didn't like. Always asked to study, study, study! Haven't her parents thought about her own happiness?! She always obliged what her parents ordered her without hearing a single protest. She studied until the dead of night just to please her parents, but now! They couldn't even grant a simple request from their child who spent her life trying so hard to please them!

:: end of flashback::

Sakura glanced at Sasuke at the back of the room, which was being lectured by Kurenai-sensei about being late. How she envied him! He was free with no one to watch over him. He could go and do whatever he wants without hearing a single word of lecture. How she wanted to be like him. Unknown to her, Sasuke was being envious of her because she seemed to have a perfect life: she has parents, good grades, and friends. Unlike him… who has absolutely nothing. And now starts a tale of two people who were worlds apart but found a place they could call home. They found their 'home' at each other's hearts.

:: Tsuzuku ::

A/n: Okay! The first chapter's done! I hope you guys liked it. Now, I'll tell you something… The plot of this story is taken from my life (except for the romance thingy which I just put in). Yep! I'm an overprotected little girl which has no freedom… and that sparked the idea of this fic. The little-miss-perfect idea came from my own experiences in life and I put it into writing and viola! This fic was made! Please bear with this piece of work and please continue to read it and you'll understand what being overprotected like me is… well, that's enough chit-chat from me. Please click the little button down there and give me a review. I want to know if you liked this story or not!!!

Okay, just wait for the next chapter… I just have to think what sorrowful stuff happened to my life…


	2. Liberated Weekend 1

**Disclaimer:** Naruto will be mine… someday… evil laugh

**A/n: **Please read the notes below the story, I might say something that would interest you there.

**A Place We Call Home **

By: Withering Princess

**Chapter 2: Liberated Weekend 1**

The bell rang and its time to go home. The school corridors were now packed with students hurrying to go home or either hang out with their buds. Sakura and Hinata were one of them.

"Hey Hinata-chan, have you already started on our Home Economics project?" asked Sakura who was retrieving books from her locker and stuffed them at her unusually large backpack whose seam is a bit ripped due to the weight at has been carrying these past few years.

Hinata shyly shook her head. "Uhmm… Sakura-chan, would you mind to come with me at the bookstore and help me buy some cardboard since it's already Friday?" Hinata uncertainly asked her friend who was now walking besides her, struggling with the weight of her backpack. She has already conceptualized the design on their project, which their teacher calls a 'make-it-yourself-bookshelf-using-cardboard' and now, she just needs the material so that she can already start making it.

Sakura turned to her friend. "I would love to, but let me ask my parents first. You know what might happen if they find out that I went somewhere without their permission." She said and gave her best friend and apologetic smile. She feels bad whenever this happens. She would gladly go with Hinata and help her shop if it weren't for her parents—especially her mom.

"Alright them" Hinata answered as she scooted along the schoolyard along with her friend. They stood at the school gates as they waited for Sakura's mom to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, Sakura's mom finally arrived, riding their silver car. Sakura was about to ask her mom if she could go with Hinata when her mother opened the window and began to speak.

"Well, what are you waiting Haruno Sakura? A knight in shining armor to personally carry you inside the car? Stop your dallying thoughts and get in at once!" her mom almost yelled her lungs out if Hinata wasn't there.

Sakura winced at her mom's words before she uncertainly asked: "Mom can I go with Hinata at the bookstore first? She going to buy some materials for our project." Sakura braced herself for what could be her mom's answer. Her mom is so unpredictable. She was the type who would embarrass you in public.

"Did you hear what I told you or do you have something stuck in your ear? I told you to get in so we can go home." Her mom barked at her. "Which reminds me, don't waste you time on someone else's project, because you haven't even started yours! Now get in the car!" her mom added and gave her a glare that could kill.

Sakura merely nodded. "I'm sorry Hinata." She whispered to her as she turned. Hinata simply smiled at her and accepted her apology. Hinata often wondered how could Sakura keep up with her mom's abusive attitude. Hinata waved as she watched the car zoom away from where she is standing. Now she has to go to the bookstore alone.

Sakura lied at her bed and began flipping through the pages of her grade school yearbook. She loves to revisit old memories of her and her friends whenever she has time. She smiled as she looked at the Hinata who was shyly smiling at the picture. On her left was her cousin, Hyuga Neji. Hinata and Neji really looked alike because of their pearly eyes that only the Hyugas have. Neji was a motorcycle enthusiast and is often seen hanging around the motorcycle shop with his raven-haired friend. What was his name again? Oh yes, Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura mentally kicked herself as she remembered that Uchiha Sasuke was her classmate. Unknowingly, she turned the pages of the year to the page where the Uchiha's picture is printed and found herself staring at it.

She stared at Sasuke who was expressionless on the picture. You could see the loneliness mirrored in his handsome onyx eyes, but though he shows no emotion on the picture, she had to admit that he really looked handsome. A fact is the fan club founded by Yamanaka Ino who is also known as 'Sasuke's no. 1 admirer'. She can be usually seen stalking Sasuke or daydreaming at the school bench about him. Sakura giggled at the thought of her lovesick classmate. She suppressed a yawn as she looked at clock at her bedside table that displays the numbers '10:37'. Seeing that it was already late, she gently closed the yearbook and laid it on top of her bedside table and turned of the light. Wearily, she brought her feet on top of her bed and covered herself with her blanket and dozed off.

: : : : : : : : the next day : : : : : : : : : :

Warm sunshine crossed the threshold of Sakura's room, waking up the pink-haired lady. Blearily, she dragged herself off her warm, inviting bed and proceeded to her dresser to dress up. She has chosen her periwinkle tank top and some simple white shorts to wear today. She's not going anywhere, so why wear something fancy? She descended the stairs after she dressed up and brushed her hair and was surprised to see her mom and dad dressed up in formal attire. "Mom, dad, where are you going?" she asked as she stared at her parents' posh attire.

"Oh just in time Sakura. Your mom and I are going to attend to a meeting at the company. We're not going to come home until tomorrow, since it is a two-day meeting. Now we want you to take care of the house and you are not allowed to go out, young lady." Her dad explained. Sakura nodded and deep inside she was jumping in joy—finally! A weekend without her parents! "You have everything you need here, so you have no reason to go out. Finally, always lock the door and always check the plugs before you sleep. Understand?" her dad added as he followed his wife outside the door. ""And another thing, the house keys are on the kitchen counter." He started the car and zoomed off to the meeting, which leaves Sakura alone in the house.

Sakura smiled at the thought: her being by herself by two days. It means she can go wherever she pleases disregarding her dad's warnings. 'They would know if I go out since they're not here anyway.' She thought as she paced through the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. She pulled out a carton of milk, poured some for herself and drank it. She feels light as a feather because she can have a pressure-less weekend—without her parents! "Now let's see…" Sakura muttered. "I could give Hinata a call tell her to come here." She paused to think about her option. "No, it's too early to call. She's asleep 'till 10 o'clock at Saturdays." Sighing, she let herself fall on the soft, comfy couch as she grabbed a random magazine littering their center table and glanced at its cover. It read 'Latest Celebrity Gossip'. Sakura grimaced as she read the cover. "Eew… how could mom stand these… these magazines?!" she exclaimed as she tossed the magazine back onto the mahogany table. She began to think of something to do when she heard a screeching and crashing sound like a metal-to-metal collision that came from outside their house. Hastily, she stood up and ran outside to see what the commotion is all about. She flung open the door and was surprised to see a tumbled-down motorcycle and an amazingly distorted metal trashcan. She looked around to see where the motorcycle driver was and saw someone sprawled on the ground and trying to stand up with difficulty.

She rushed to the aid of the fallen driver and helped him to sit down. The man was wearing a black and red motorcycle jacket and matching helmet with the same color. The driver lifted his hands and removed his helmet, revealing his face. As he lifted his helmet, Sakura saw his raven hair and onyx eyes. The man looked at her with an ever-famous emotion less face.

"I can handle myself." Uchiha Sasuke declared as he stood up with much difficulty. Once again, he glanced at who rushed to his aid and saw her warm jade orbs. "What are you staring at?" he snapped as he ambled toward his fallen motorbike.

Sakura slowly stood up and looked at the raven-haired Uchiha. "But… but you're injured! Look at the scratches all over you! Those needs to be clean or you're likely to have an infection!" she squealed as she grabbed his arm.

"Leave me alone! I don't need you." He said as he shook Sakura's arm off and faced her. "I didn't ask for your help in the first place." He glared at the girl who was just trying to help him.

Sakura was taken aback by the hurtful words thrown at her. She was just trying to help him, but why does he have to get mad like this? She hung her head and let the shadows swallow her jade eyes, which were welling with tears at that moment.

Sasuke looked at Sakura who suddenly turned silent and was surprised to see that she was crying. He didn't mean to make her cry like that. 'She's so fragile.' He though as she approached Sakura, who was sobbing. "Look, I didn't mean it that way" he put hand on Sakura's shoulders and tried to sooth her. Sakura was still sobbing, and Sasuke needed to make her stop. "Hey… stop that… I… Look, I'm sorry for what I've said." He finally blurted out, disregarding his pride.

Sakura was surprised whit what she just heard. Uchiha Sasuke—the Uchiha Sasuke that is being worshipped by more than half of the school population just apologized to her?! A storm might be coming. Timidly, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and looked at him. 'Whoa! He's tall…' Sakura inwardly commented, seeing that he was a head taller than her. "No, it is I who must be sorry… I didn't mean to bawl like that. It's just I'm a bit sensitive." And she gave Sasuke an apologetic smile. "Why don't you come in and let me dress your wounds and have a drink or two… if you don't mind."

Sasuke's lips slightly curved upward. An unmistakable smile. "Hn… Alright." He answered, earning a yip of delight from Sakura. He parked his darling bike at Sakura's pavement and followed her inside.

::Tsuzuku::

A/n: So what do you think about it? Let me know by giving this a review! Just click on that cute little button there!!!

Blackbelt: Okay! Here's the next chap! Thanks for the review!!!

Lightdreamer: Thanks for reviewing!

ToMoYo129: Heya girl! Thanks!

LoStkOKo-sAmA28: Whoa!!! Pareho tayo! (W're the same!)

Sonydjsnmix: Thanks!

Born to kill assholes lik: Hehehe… anyway tnx for the review

UNKIND: Hell yeah! Sasusaku rocks!!

Benjem: Well, here's the next chappie!

Mad-killer-bunnies-alert: Whoa! I'm flattered! Thankis for the review!

Ichigo Engine: what a tastly pen name!!! Yep, you're right! Thanks for reviewing!!

Shujouteki Kumo: Yep! More SasuSaku focs! MORE SASUSAKU FICS!!!

Review!!


	3. Liberated Weekend 2

**Disclaimer: **Naruto's not mine, though I wish it was. . .

**A/n: **Please read the author's notes at the end because I might say something interesting there.

* * *

**A Place We Call Home**

**Chapter 3:** A Liberated Weekend 2

"Please take a seat." Said Sakura as they entered the house. Sasuke scanned the house for any sign of her parents. "Oh yeah, my parents aren't here, they're on a business trip kinda thing." Sakura said as though reading his mind. The raven-haired lad nodded and sank into the cream-colored couch and folded his hands together that it covered the lower half of his unexpressive face. Silence filled the whole living room until Sakura spoke. "Oh, I forgot! What would you like to drink?"

Sasuke looked at her intently before answering. "Plain water." He said before averting his attention to a plant, glaring the poor creature to death.

"Are you sure that's want you want? I mean how about some juice or perhaps some tea?" Sakura asked, surprised at how plain Sasuke's drink would be. No answer. Nervously, Sakura spoke: "Uhm… Okay, I get it… please wait here until I get some water." And she went to the kitchen.

Sasuke heaved a sigh the moment Sakura left. He felt uncomfortable inside Sakura's house. The house was neat and well furnished, but still, it made him feel uneasy… It reminded him of his childhood. His childhood that he thought was average, until he witnessed something that shattered his normal life.

* * *

_::flashback::_

"Mom, Dad, I'm home." Sasuke greeted as he kicked his shoes off and entered the house. He walked in the hallway, looking for his mom and dad. He was excited in coming home because he can't wait to show his parents his A-graded test paper. He neared the kitchen when he heard his parents' voice conversing. By the tone of their voices, it seemed to be something of important matter, and Sasuke decided not to interrupt them. He hid behind the door and listened to them.

"I can't take this anymore! I can't pretend that we're one happy couple all the time!" came his Dad's voice. Sasuke was shocked to hear his father shout like that. He never raised his voice like that even if he was really mad. 'What's going on?' Sasuke asked himself.

"You can't do this! I'm not asking you to do this for me, but for the children's sake! Don't ruin their lives! Don't!" her voice was being muffled by her sobs. Sasuke wanted to run into the kitchen and comfort his mom, but his legs wouldn't allow him.

"That's it! I'm going to leave this family for good! And don't expect me to come back! I never loved you in the first place! You know I just did it because our parents have betrothed us! But now that they're all dead, I have no reason to stay with you! So fuck off, bitch!" his dad yelled. Upon hearing his father's words, anger boiled in Sasuke's blood. How dare him to say hurtful words to his mother like that?!

"But the children! Don't leave the children! They need you!!!" his mother yelled at his dad's retreating back. She will do anything to stop him from leaving. Anything.

His father glared at his mom. "The children?! Who would want to stay with two brats like them? Who would want to stay with a son who's a drug addict? Tell me, who?!" he bellowed. His mom was puzzled. None of her sons is a drug addict. Itachi is a president of one of the school clubs and Sasuke's on the top his class. How could one of them be a drug addict? "Itachi!" his dad declared. "He's the one I'm talking about. You thought he's always at school and doing stuff about that stupid club of his, well you're dead wrong. Last week I saw him hitting pot with his bastard friends! Who would want a son like that?!"

Sasuke's mom shook her head. "No… you're a liar. You're lying…" she whispered, repeating the words over and over again. "Don't tell me lies about my children… I'll kill you." She said.

"Then go ahead! I'm not scared of a fucking bitch like you who can't accept that her son is an-" but he was cut off with a scream—his own scream. Sasuke's ears were pierced by this horrifying sound. 'What happened?" Sasuke thought as he found his strength and entered the kitchen. The sight in front of him made his knees weak and he collapsed on the floor. There, lay his father; bathing in his own blood and his mother, sitting beside the corpse, smoothing its hair while a bloody knife lay beside her.

"Sasuke… you're home… Look at your father… he won't leave us anymore… He will leave us no more…" she said with an insane smile plastered on her face, bloodied by the specks of blood from her victim. "Look at him Sasuke… look at your father…" she said, approaching Sasuke who was inching away from her. "Why, Sasuke? Why are you avoiding me?" his mother asked.

'She's gone mad…' Sasuke thought as he mustered all of his strength to stand up and run away from the scene

After that incident, his mother was taken to a mental institution, but she died there four years ago. Itachi on the other side stopped schooling and went with his bastard friends. He doesn't know where his fucking brother is now… like he cared for a brother like him. And him? He was adopted by one of his aunts in his mother's side, but he left them when he was fifteen and lived on his own while he rented his own apartment. He used his parent's trifling amount in the bank to buy a motorbike that he used in joining drag races that had put food in his table. Good thing that he had an educational plan so he did not need to worry about his tuition fees.

* * *

_::end of flashback::_

"Sasuke-kun, sorry it took me a while to return. It's because I took this along." Sakura said, breaking Sasuke's train of thoughts. 'kun?' Sasuke asked himself. He looked at the thing Sakura was holding—a first aid kit. "Well, let me see the wound so I can clean it." Sakura said as she gently took Sasuke's arm. The contact sent electricity thought the lad's body but not from pain. He hastily pulled the arm away from her. "Oops, that must've hurt, I'm sorry!" Sakura said with an apologetic look in her jade eyes. She went to take his arm again.

"No, it's not necessary." Sasuke declared, turning away from her. He wasn't used to have someone taking care of him. It felt kinda… annoying. Yes, annoying.

"Please, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura pleaded as tucked a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear. "You might get an infection or something and I wouldn't forgive myself if that happened. So please, please, please, pretty please let me take care of your wound." She whined.

"Alright…!" Sasuke snapped as he swung his arm back for Sakura to take. 'So you'll shut up.' He added mentally. Sakura grinned to see that Sasuke finally gave in. she took his arm and cleaned it. Sasuke on he other hand stared at his arm which was being cleaned at the moment. Unconsciously, his gaze trailed from his arm to the pair of hands cleaning it, then up to Sakura's calm face focused on her task. He stared at her intently and realized that she was… beautiful. 'Damnit, what am I thinking?!' he scolded himself and averted his gaze to something other that the female in his company.

"There! I'm done! Don't hurt yourself like that again. Anyway, would you mind if I ask you a question?" Sakura declared and began to pack up the first aid kit that lay on the table beside the couch they were sitting on.

"You're already asking a question." Sasuke answered with a smirk that made Sakura turn away to hide her blush. 'Why do all girls hide their face when I do that?' Sasuke mused at himself. "What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm just curious why you drove into our pavement and crashed against the trash can." Sakura said. Grinning, she closed the first aid kit and put it atop the table beside the unattended glass of water and Sasuke's helmet. She waited for Sasuke's answer.

"Oh that." Sasuke began. He almost forgot his reason why he was driving his motorcycle that early in the morning. "Something's wrong with my brakes so I decided to take it to the shop, but halfway to the trip there, they broke down and I lost control." He explained. He badly needed to change his brakes because he had a race this midnight and he can't afford to lose. "Okay, thanks for the bandage." He declared as he stood up and went to exit the house when Sakura suddenly spoke.

"Hey, can I go with you to the motorcycle shop?" Sakura inquired. She stood up and put her hands behind her back as she crossed her fingers, wishing that Sasuke would comply.

Sasuke looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. "Why would you want to go there?" he asked the pink-haired girl in front of him. Sakura stiffened, but not enough for Sasuke to notice. She raked her brain for a nice reason, though the truth is just she wanted to ride along with Sasuke on his motorcycle since she haven't ridden one yet.

"I've run out of cardboard. Yes, cardboard and I'd want to buy some at the bookstore beside the motorcycle shop." Sakura answered. She congratulated herself for such a good excuse.

Sasuke titled his head and stared at Sakura. He realized that he hasn't even started his project—good thing Sakura reminded him. "Okay." He said. Sakura yipped in delight. She lifted the receiver of the phone so that when her parents call, they would just think that she was talking to someone then grabbed Sasuke's helmet and ran out of the door, along with him.

* * *

**_Tsuzuku_**

**A/n:** Hello! I'm back along with this new chapter of **APWCH**!!! I'm so sorry for the late update, but we had out exams!!! Hope you'll understand!!!

**Responses for chapter 2 reviews:**

**LoStkOKo-sAmA28:** Just a little… Pasaway pasaway!!! Hope you like this chap! Thanks for the review!

**BlackBelt:** Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter buddy!

**mad-killer-bunnies-alert:** Hmmm… Sasu/Saku/Neji triangle? I don't know.. I'll try to put that if I can fit it in the plot! Thanks for the review!

**Britney Rock:** Whoa I'm flattered! Here's the update you've been waiting for! Hope you like it! Thanks for the review!

**Ichigo Engine:** thanks! I'll try not to rush it! Promise! Thanks for the review!

**Jenny:** Thanks for the review!

ToMoYo129: Tomoyo-chan!!! Yup, I'm a Filipina. Don't you remember me? Oops… I forgot that I changed my pen name. By the way, I'm formerly known as Joal Asakura!!! Waaaah! Tomoyo-chan!!! Thanks for the review!

**RemoteD:** She a real bitch! Hehee!!! I'll try to improve on that! Thanks for the review!

**AnimEvivvErz:** Yipee! Here's the next chap! Thanks for the review!

**dark angel:** Yeah, those parents make the SasuSaku romance hard to spark up! But don't worry though! Thanks for reviewing!

**kira-924:** Neh, a kiss may seem too rushed don't you think? Anyway, it will come in later chapters!!! Thanks for reviewing!

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Stay tuned to the next chapter!!!

And please don't hesitate to send a review!!! They make me smile!!!


	4. I Just Want To Know You More

**Disclaimer: **Naruto's not mine, though I wish it was. . .

**A/n: **Please read the author's notes at the end because I might say something interesting there.

* * *

**A Place We Call Home**

**Chapter 4:** I Just Want To Know You More

* * *

"Hey, how do you put this thing on?" Sakura asked as she gazed at the helmet on her hands. She was very eager to try it on and ride a motorcycle since she hasn't ridden one yet. She looked at Sasuke who was silent, expecting for an answer from the raven-haired lad who was wearing a frown at that that moment "Wh-what?" Sakura nervously asked, worried that she might've said something wrong that could thwart her chances on riding the motorcycle.

Sasuke looked at her, giving her a piercing stare. "What are you putting that helmet on for?" he started. "We're not going to ride the motorcycle, do you want to commit suicide?" he asked. Sakura flinched as she remembered that the motorcycle has no brakes and it would be a fool's idea to ride it in that situation. Slowly, Sakura looked at him and gave him an apologetic grin.

"I'm sorry. I just tend to get excited when—" but she was cut off by Sasuke who was getting ticked off little by little at the moment by her non-stop chirping.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He said he let out an exasperated sigh and waved his hand motioning Sakura to follow him. He grasped the motorcycle's handlebars tightly and started the strenuous task of maneuvering it towards the motor shop. Sakura followed him from the behind. She was gazing intently at his back, wondering what could he be thinking at the moment. She decided to strike up a conversation.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun. What do you usually do at home? Do you have any hobbies or whatever?" she asked with the air of friendliness in her voice. She quickened her pace a bit so she was now walking beside him. She looked at Sasuke, waiting for a response from him.

"Nothing that would interest you." He answered monotonously, which disappointed Sakura. She just wanted the person to open up to her. And being the friendly person that she is, she began to think of a question that would give her a long answer.

"Uhm… since when did you start riding a motorcycle? Where did you learn to ride one?" she asked once again. She then grabbed the motorcycle's handlebars and helped Sasuke to push the vehicle towards their destination.

Sasuke was surprised by her actions and looked at her. "What are you doing?" he whispered, enough for her to hear. They were already halfway to the motor shop.

"Helping." Sakura answered with an energetic smile. "It's faster this way, you know. You shouldn't be afraid to ask someone for help." She added as she continued to push. "Hey… you didn't answer my question." She reminded him.

Sasuke smirked at her crafty way of making people answer her questions. "Well, I started motorcycling since I was fifteen. I learned riding it from Kazuhiko, the motorcycle shop guy. He's a friend of my aunt." He explained. True enough, he was riding the motorcycle since he was fifteen and started joining drag races when he was sixteen. He quickly learned motorcycling from Kazuhiko who was a drag racer in his teens but he had quitted the 'sport' after an injury that nearly killed him, five years back. "Sakura, we're here." Sasuke said.

Sakura stopped to look at the sign above the shop. It read: "Drag". Sakura raised her eyebrow at the sign. "Drag?" she mumbled. 'That doesn't makes sense…' she thought as she sat on a bench at the shop. She cupped her hands on her chin as she watched Sasuke check on his brakes.

Suddenly, a man at his early 20's with brown hair tied in a ponytail appeared from behind the counter. "Oh, Sasuke. What a surprise. You're early today? Did something happened on your motorcycle?" he asked. He turned his head to get his toolbox when he saw Sakura sitting on his bench. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't notice you." He told Sakura in an apologetic voice. He then turned to Sasuke. "You didn't tell me you already have a girlfriend, you nasty guy!" he said teasingly, ruffling Sasuke's hair playfully. "You nasty, nasty guy!"

"W-WHAT?!" Sakura and Sasuke spat, a faint tinge of red present in their faces. What made Kazuhiko think that they're together? "Kazuhiko you bastard, she's not my girlfriend!" Sasuke yelled at the brunette, fighting the urge to hit him on the head with the wrench on his hand. Kazuhiko apologized repeatedly, as he scratched his head.

"I'm really sorry, I just got the idea since it's not everyday that Sasuke brings a girl here." Kazuhiko said as he waved his hand in apology. "By the way, Sasuke. I'm gonna change your brakes. Wait for me, I'll just get one from the storage." He said as he straightened up.

"No. You stay here. I'll get the brakes." Sasuke said. He wouldn't want to be left alone with Sakura especially after what Kazuhiko said. He wants to 'recover' from a shock like that. He stood up and proceeded inside the shop, looking for the part he needs.

While Sasuke was inside, Kazuhiko asked Sakura: "I see that we haven't introduced yet. By the way, I'm Kazuhiko and you're?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Nice to meet you, Kazuhiko-san." Sakura answered. Kazuhiko nodded in acknowledgement as he began to fiddle Sasuke's motorcycle. Sakura watched him as he disassembled its parts.

"I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. I really thought you were his girlfriend!" Kazuhiko said and began to chuckle. Sakura became interested on why Kazuhiko thought about that and began to ask him something.

"Ne, Kazuhiko-san. Can I ask you something?" Sakura asked Kazuhiko who was trying to figure out what accessory should he attach to Sasuke's bike.

Kazuhiko looked at her before answering. "Go ahead. As long as I can answer it!" he grinned at Sakura, flashing his shiny braces at her.

Sakura grinned. "I just wanted to ask what made you think I was… uh…" Sakura trailed off at the rest of the sentence. However, Kazuhiko grasped what Sakura wanted to say and grinned even more.

"Oh **that**." He started. "Well, the idea just popped in, my mind since Sasuke doesn't really talk to anyone beside me and Neji. He's more of the anti-social type you know." Sakura nodded, motioning him to continue. "He doesn't talk to others, especially girls. He told me that he hates girls because they were just bugging him squealing their lungs out, yelling 'Oo-h Sasuke-kun! Let's go on a date!" he said as he put up an unnaturally high-pitched voice that seemed to break Sakura's eardrums. "So I was kinda surprised that he actually talked to you so I thought you were his girlfriend." Kazuhiko explained.

Suddenly, the sliding door of the shop opened, making Sakura and Kazuhiko turn their heads at the sound. Out came Sasuke, on his hands were some spare brakes he managed to find in Kazuhiko's storage. Kazuhiko stood up and looked at the brakes that Sasuke chose. His eyes widened the moment he saw the brand that Sasuke took.

"Sasuke! That's the most expensive brake I have in my warehouse!" he declared in surprise, which kinda shocked Sakura. He eyed the product in Sasuke's hands and gave him an 'I-don't-think-you-can-afford-that' look.

Sasuke gave him a glazed look before he spoke. "I know it's the most expensive brand, that's why I want you to put it in my bike." He threw a look on his motorcycle. "And don't worry, I'm going to pay you. I'm gonna win the race tonight." He added, realizing the thoughts that are playing in Kazuhiko's mind.

Kazuhiko frowned in defeat as he took the brakes from Sasuke. "Alright, just make sure you'll win, or I'll sell your motorcycle in a pawnshop." He threatened. He crouched and began to replace the brakes on Sasuke's motorcycle.

Sakura was getting entertained in watching Kazuhiko attach the brakes when Sasuke suddenly sat next to her. Not that Sasuke really intended to sit beside her, but because the one and only bench in Kazuhiko's shop can only occupy two people, hence.

"Sakura, I thought you were going to buy something?" Sasuke asked the girl beside him. He was wondering why Sakura hasn't left yet. 'Don't tell me you want me to go with you.' Sasuke thought.

Sakura stiffened as Sasuke reminded her about that. She slowly reached deep into her pocket, hoping to grasp some money. 'Please let there be some money here, please.' Sakura prayed. But as though the Gods were playing a trick on her, her pocket was empty. She slowly turned to Sasuke with a grim smile plastered on her face.

Sasuke gulped. 'What's the problem now?' he thought. "What?" he managed to blurt out.

"I forgot my wallet at home." she confessed, earning a suppressed giggle from Kazuhiko was eavesdropping. She smiled wearily at Sasuke hoping that she didn't anger him.

Sasuke slapped his forehead. He looked at Sakura who stood up suddenly and began walking towards the street. Sasuke stood up as well and looked at Sakura's retreating figure. "Where are you going?" he asked the girl.

"Home." Sakura answered, glancing at Sasuke who was behind her.

"**Home**?" Sasuke repeated, not getting what Sakura meant.

"I'm gonna get my wallet. I have no money." Sakura explained and turned as she began walking again, when somebody suddenly grabbed her shoulder. She turned to look who it is and was surprised to see that it was Sasuke. "What?" she asked.

"Nevermind. I'll let you borrow my money. Just pay me at school." Sasuke said, his 'nice-and-gentle' side getting the better of him, earning an earnest smile from Sakura.

"Thanks Sasuke-kun!" Sakura happily said. 'He's not that mean after all.' She thought as she grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him towards the bookstore.

"Aa." That was what Sasuke managed to say while Sakura was dragging him.

"Kun? Sasuke-**kun**?" Kazuhiko muttered. 'Something **weird** is going on.' He thought as he focused his attention back to the motorcycle.

Tsuzuku…

**A/n**: Ooh!!! Hello there! I hope you won't get mad at me for such a slow update. But I do try my best to update as fast as possible. I hope you'll forgive me!!! Waah!!

On the other hand, I do hope that you guys like this chapter. I really liked Kazuhiko's character especially what he said on the last part! He's supposed to be funny, but his 'jerky' side will come out in later chapters!! Hope you like this chap!!! Don't forget to submit a review!!! Tell me what you think of this chap! Reviews make me smile!!!

**Response for Chapter 3 reviews:**

**scarletmoon12:** here's the update! hope you like it! Thanks for reviewing!!!

**ToMoYo129:** Did you read that story? It's so random!!! Heehee! Uy, tinetext kita ba't di ka nagrereply? Thanks for reviewing!!!

**yukari-nikxXx**: Weeha!!! Here's the update! Hope you like it and thanks for reviewing!!!

**blitzballkat**: Wahhiii!! Here' the next one!!! Thanks for the review!!!

**nikki-14angeL**: Yep, I'm Filipina!!! We're the same!!! I love this pairing! Thanks for the review!!!

**Angelic Warrior**: Thanks for reviewing!!!

**UNKIND**: Merry Christmas too! (though it's a bit late! ) Keep reviewing buddy!!! Thanks!!!

**Maya Amano**: I'll try my best to update faster!!! apologetic look Teehee!!! I glad you like my story!!! Don't worry, I already have the conflict… It might appear on the next chap… maybe…

**TriGemini**: Whoa! Thanks for the review! It's really, really informative! I really like your review!!!

**Shujouteki Kumo**: Haha! Sasuke's dad is EVIL! Hahaa!! Thanks for the review!

**kira-924**: Nope, Sasuke' race will be on the next chapter or even later… Maybe! thanks for the review!

**animEvivvErz**: Thanks for the review! Sasuke's parents were a bit… uhm… how do I say this… Psychotic? Hehee!!

**nekozuki**: Whaiii!!! Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chap!!!

Don't forget to review!!!


	5. Moments Before The Race

**Disclaimer:** No… It's not mine…..

**A/n: **Please read the author's notes at the end because I might say something interesting there.

* * *

A Place We Call Home

**Chapter 5: **Moments Before The Race

* * *

"Is that all?" asked Sasuke who was standing right behind Sakura. He agreed to pay for the expenses as long as Sakura would pay him back at school on Monday. Sakura nodded, giving him a slight smile. He did not know what possessed him that he volunteered to cover up for this girl's expenses. All he knew is that this was just an act of gratitude since she helped him earlier. It's nothing deeper than that… or so he says.

Sakura led the way towards the counter, followed by a bored Sasuke. The cashier greeted them and began adding up the prices of the items. Sasuke did not bothered to look at the total; he simply handed the cashier 500 yen and exited the store, leaving Sakura there. Sakura, on the other hand, quickly grabbed her things and scooted out of the bookstore to catch up with the raven-haired lad.

"Sasuke-kun!" she panted. Sakura was clutching an unusually large plastic bag and her pink hair was disheveled by the wind from running, but it amused Sasuke to see her like that, since Sasuke always see her neat and prim… and seeing her in this tousled form seemed to fascinate him. It somehow made Sasuke want to know her a bit more… just a little bit.

"What?" asked Sasuke as a breeze passed by them, carrying some dried leaves along. Sakura was about to answer when a stray leaf got caught in her unruly hair, which made Sasuke put a playful smirk on his lips. Sakura was puzzled on the sudden reaction on his face. She furrowed her brows in confusion and mouthed _'what_?'. Much to her surprise, Sasuke took a small step forward and raised his hand to her head.

"You got a leaf on your hair." He said as he pulled the dead leaf off her pink tresses. Sakura lowered her head to hide her cheeks, which were almost the same shade as her hair. Then, Sakura remembered why she was running after Sasuke. He forgot his change.

Sasuke was puzzled on why Sakura handed him some coins. "That's your change. You forgot it inside." Explained Sakura, and Sasuke nodded. He stuffed the few coins inside his pocket and headed back into the motorcycle shop, Sakura trailing behind him. He guessed that at that moment, Kazuhiko had already finished changing his brakes.

"There! Good as new!" Kazuhiko proudly proclaimed the moment he saw Sasuke as he urged the raven-haired lad to take a look on his motorcycle. "And look here Sakura! Don't you think this design I put here looks cool?" he boasted as the two gazed at the vehicle before them. It was wicked. The shiny black body of the motorcycle was now lined with red streaks that looked like fire. Sakura nodded in agreement as she stared it. It was really beautiful, even though Sakura know not a thing about motorcycles.

"It's perfect." Sasuke declared as he patted the cushioned seat of his motorcycle and surveyed it from end to end. "Just in time. It'll be perfect for the race tonight." He added averting his gaze from the vehicle to Kazuhiko. "Don't worry, I'll pay you. I'll win for sure." Earning a confused look from Sakura. She did not know what race they are talking about. She did not have a single clue that Sasuke **is** a drag racer.

"Excuse me." Sakura butted in making Kazuhiko and Sasuke shoot their glances at her. Sakura knew that it was bad for interrupting them like that, but she knew that she **had** to ask this question. She gulped some air before she began to speak. "What race are you talking about? And who's the racer?"

Kazuhiko grinned. "I see that our Sasuke here haven't told you." He said as he threw a glance at Sasuke who, in turn, gave him a glare. "Sasuke's a **drag** racer. He races at the Yamanaka district. You know what? He's a really good racer! You better watch his race this midnight and see what I mean!" he proudly added, beaming at his number one student. True, Kazuhiko had trained many young men to become racers but Sasuke was in a different level. In just a few months of teaching and training, Sasuke was on the same level as himself, and now, Sasuke is on a whole new different caliber.

Sakura's eyes widened in both in surprise and horror. "But… but drag racing is dangerous!" she almost shouted. The two men in front of her looked baffled at her behavior. "And you're a minor! You can't participate in races just like that!" she added as she pointed a finger at Sasuke, hoping that they would realize what she meant.

"Sakura, you're overreacting!" Kazuhiko replied as he put up a hand to stop Sakura from babbling some more. "Sasuke's an expert racer, and would you like to prevent him of his needs? I mean, drag racing puts food on his table. He's not in it just for the thrill of danger. He's in it because of the necessity." Kazuhiko explained and glanced at Sasuke who was looking rather emotionless at that moment, wanting him to back him up. Suddenly, Sasuke spoke.

"It's my life. Don't bother with other people's business." Sasuke told Sakura, earning an incredulous look from the girl he was talking to. He does not want people to worry over him, since he's more of a loner. He turned his back to the two and started walking when he heard Sakura retort.

"But what about your sake? What if you get hurt? What if—" but Sakura was cut of by an intense look fro Sasuke. She meant no harm with her words… she just wanted to prevent any mishap that could and might've happen in the future. No one knows when and where disasters happen, and it's much better to play it safe and avoid it, right?

"I told you, don't bother with me. Will you just go home?" Sasuke said, or more of commanded her. She was starting to get into his nerves, yet there is something in him stopping him from snapping at this girl. It makes him feel… **weird**. Usually he would scare the girls away with a blood-freezing glare or drive them away with a _'fuck off'. _Yet, he did not know why he couldn't do that right now. Maybe he was scared of making her cry like what he did earlier. But when he saw her cry, he seems to be rather… _affected_.

Sakura stared at Sasuke's retreating back, tears brimming on her jade green eyes. _'Why does he have to be like that?_ _So cold and unfeeling. I was just… just doing it for his sake…'_ Sakura thought as she let her salty tears trail down her pale cheeks. She promptly wiped her tears with the back of her hand and turned to face Kazuhiko. "Thanks for the time. I'm leaving." And turned her back to proceed home when she heard Kazuhiko speak.

"I'm sorry for how Sasuke acted. He just like that. He lost his family at an early age, so just please understand why he's like that." Said Kazuhiko. Sakura slowly nodded, not bothering to turn back. She simply continued walking until she was out of sight. Kazuhiko heaved a heavy sigh as he began to stuff his wrenches and other tools in his old, yet trusty toolbox. He felt responsible for all things that Sasuke does, since he was his student, right?

* * *

Sakura walked home rather swiftly. She wanted to get home as fast as she can and take her mind off from what just happened. She walked or rather stomped all the way back home, her eyes planted on the ground as if it was something fascinating. When she reached her house, she swung the door open and let herself fall on the cream colored couch. She was both exhausted and depressed… but not **that** depressed. Maybe she was just sad. Yes… she was just **sad**. It's not like Sasuke was someone special to her isn't it?

Sakura lazily rolled oh her side, her face against the backrest. She took a deep breath and sighed. Something was peculiar about the smell of the couch… it smelled like a man's perfume. It smelled of Sasuke. Suddenly, Sakura bolted straight from the couch. '_This was the couch that Sasuke-kun sat on, right?' _Sakura asked herself as she gaze at the couch she was plopped on. Then, Sakura shook her head, her pink locks swaying along the wind. _'I went home not to think about him. I came home to relax!' _Sakura told herself. _'Plus, Sasuke-kun must've been trying out his motorcycle right now, getting ready for that race. Oh God, it's so dangerous! But Kazuhiko-san seems to have lots of confidence in him.' _Sakura mused as she stared at her feet. All of a sudden, Kazuhiko's words earlier popped back in her mind.

"_He races at the Yamanaka district."_

_"He's a really good racer!"_

_"You better watch his race this midnight and see what I mean!"_

Sakura slowly hugged her knees close to her. "I… I want to see him race. I want to see why Kazuhiko brags of him like that." She whispered to no one in particular. She lifted her head to look at the white wall clock on the wall._ One o'clock._ It was past lunchtime, but Sakura was just starting to feel hungry. Idly, she pushed herself off the couch and headed to the kitchen and began to fix herself a quick lunch of instant ramen.

* * *

"Nice, Uchiha." Commented a pearl-eyed lad about a year older than the person he was talking to. The Uchiha smirked and patted the black-and-red motorcycle he was leaning on. The pearl-eyed Hyuuga surveyed the motorcycle and wondered how much it cost the Uchiha. "How much did that upgrade cost you?"

Sasuke frowned. "I don't know. I just came here to change my brakes but when I came back, it was painted like this." True, he did not asked Kazuhiko to paint the motorcycle. He just wanted him to attach the new brakes for his race tonight. Since Neji sparked up the topic, he became curious as well, on why Kazuhiko painted his motorcycle. And as if on cue, Kazuhiko emerged from the warehouse, his hands full of foul-smelling grease.

"Hey Neji! Late as usual, I see!" Kazuhiko greeted as he began wiping his smelly hands on a dirty rag. Sasuke raised one of his eyebrows at what Kazuhiko was doing. He was making his hands dirtier by wiping it against a rag, which was **literally** dripping with motorcycle grease. Neji, however, gave him a slight smirk before he began to speak.

"Kazuhiko you old fart." Neji began, and Kazuhiko turned his head towards Neji, his brows furrowed in an annoyed manner. Neji always calls him **old**. God, for crying out loud, he was just 24! "Stop making your hands dirtier on that rag. And I was here for more than an hour but you didn't notice me because you were in that stinky warehouse of yours, suffocating yourself to death." Neji mocked. Kazuhiko was always like that: flaky and absent-minded. What kind of miracle happened to him why he became such a great racer was a mystery to him.

"Stop mocking me, I'm not old. I'm 24, hot and available!" He boisterously answered as he threw the smelly rag at Neji, who easily dodged it. "And I'm not suffocating myself there. I was looking for these!" he said as he showed them, a package wrapped in light brown paper. The two looked at the package curiously, guessing that it special motorcycle part.

"What's that?" Sasuke impatiently asked, crossing his arms in an annoyed manner. He hates it when Kazuhiko starts his hocus-pocus just like what was happening that moment. If he hadn't been his teacher, he would've drove his motorcycle over him. Too bad he **was**.

Kazuhiko wriggled his fingers and he spoke. "It's a special, special something!" he said with annoyingly fake 'mysterious' voice, which sounds like a deranged chipmunk. "It's an exhaust pipe made by Konoha Company! The best and most expensive motorcycle exhaust pipe! I had this exhaust pipe 3 years ago, but I never used it, since it was **so** expensive! But I decided that I want to attach it on my motorcycle right now!" he said as he began to unwrap the package. The other two eyed Kazuhiko both in interest and envy.

Kazuhiko's hands were shaking as he removed the last sheet of paper covering his beloved exhaust pipe. What was inside made his eyes almost pop out in surprise.

"Awww… It got rusty! Damn!" Kazuhiko cried.

**Tsuzuku… **

* * *

**A/n: **I would like to apologize for the **very** late update of this fic, but I have lot of stuff going on and I just have to finish those, so I simply had no time to update. Anyway, here is the fifth chapter of **A Place We Call Home.** I don't know, but I seemed to enjoy Kazuhiko's character because he's nice and funny, but not in an annoying way. He is a lot like me, actually. We're both absent-minded at times, though there are instances where we know when to get serious and get stuff to work. And at last, Neji makes an appearance, but it's not much of a participation in this chapter. I just used this chap to introduce him to the story. I wouldn't want to rush the plot and randomly insert the characters out of nowhere, but don't worry, Neji will be on the next chapter, since the next chapter is about the race! And if you also noticed, my paragraphs are now longer. You see, I have read an article about descriptive writing and I decided to try it out and I'm quite happy on how it turned out. I plan to write all the other chapters in this way so that it'll be more interesting! Okay, enough of my blabbering here and let's get to the **Review Responses**, which is my favorite part, because I love my reviewers!

**Responses for Chapter 4 Reviews: **

waterfox96 : Hey, thanks for the review! Sorry for the late update, but here it is anyway!

Shinju cAt : Yep, I'm really out of my mind. I'm glad you liked it to the point that you're printing it out from the library! Thanks for the review!

wiccangirl2000: Thanks for the review!

nikki-14angel: Heehee! Thanks for the lovely review! SasuSaku rules! And yes, I have a Yahoo Messenger, if you want to add me just get my ID at the end of this page! thanks a lot and keep reviewing! Hope you liked this chap!

LoStkOKo-sAmA28: Your pen name doesn't suck! Let's see… Maybe I forgot to get the names of the most recent reviewers so I haven't put up a response for your review. I'm sorry! Anyway, to make up for that, I'll give you an extra-long response! I'm really glad that you are enjoying this fic, and it's going to be onw of your favorites! You saying that makes me want to write more! Yay! We're both Filipinas! I'm so happt that there are lots of Filipino/Filipina authors here at ! I'm so HAPPY!!! Hey, which reminds me… Do you want to text me? Hehee! If you want you can get my number at the bottom part of the page! That's only if you want! Thanks for reviewing!

RockAngel: Yay! Thanks for the review! And hopr you enjoyed this chapter!

L0vEnEkO: Hehehe! He just lent Sakura money because he thinks he must, since Sakura helped him earlier, but it will bloom into something deeper later in the fic! Thanks for the review and keep reviewing!

UNKIND: I'm glad you find that chapter interesting! Anyway, I hope you'll find this interesting as well! Thanks for the review and keep reviewing!!!

Shujouteki Kumo: I have a question! What's MARS? Hehehe! Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you liked this chapter! I really want to know what MARS is. thinks of Mars bars yum!

Blitzballkat: Hehehe! I'm sorry the last chap was kinda short! Wahaha! I know how you feel, because I also feel like that when I read other fics! Whee! Thanks for the review and keep reviewing buddy!

xxmoonlight-angelxx: Whee! Thanks for the review! Hope you liked this one!

Fuurin-hime: Hello! We're both Filipinas, yay!!! Yep, I have read JOWAA by Naydell, and I just got permission from her to turn it into a doujinshi. However, I don't think we have the same theme. Yes, the two stories are both AU, but this one's… how do I explain this? Just watch out for the next chapters to see what I mean! Thanks for the review and keep reviewing! Mabhay ang mga Filipino authors sa !

Magy: Hey, thanks for the review! I'll try to make it longer! Keep reviewing!

Wake-Robin: Hey, thanks for the review! Stay tuned for the next one!

TriGemini: Hey thanks for the review! I really, really enjoy reading your reviews because they are really informative! Anyway, I hope you find this chapter interesting! I'm hope you had fun reading this!

**A/n:** Okay, that ends our Review Response portion! And for those who want to contacy me, you can:

**Add me in your Yahoo Messenger: **JoalItako15

Or

**Text me at:** 0920 563 0609 (Please introduce yourself when you text me, so I'll know who you are! And if I don't reply, it means that I've ran out of prepaid load! But I'll trxt you as soon as I've got some load!)

**Stay tuned for the next chap!**


	6. A Race Gone Wrong

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belong to Kishimoto-sama!

**A/n:** Please read the author's notes at the end because I might say something interesting there.

A Place We Call Home 

**Chapter 6:** A Race Gone Wrong

"Now, where is Yamanaka district?" questioned a familiar pink-haired girl as she scanned the surroundings for any sign of a human being, however, no one was in sight, as it is already eleven o'clock. Sakura shrugged both in anxiety and fear as she hugged her beige sweater around her small frame. It was her first time walk out alone, and in the dead of night. She reached for her pocket and grabbed a map of their town. "Lucky dad has this map at home. If he doesn't then I probably would be lost be now." She said as she checked if she was heading to the right direction. _Turn left then you will see a water fountain. Turn right on the curve and there you will see the Yamanaka district._ Sakura followed the map meekly, and as she neared the water fountain, she could faintly hear the sound of people shouting and engines revving up. 'I must be near.' She thought as she gathered up her pace.

"I'm sure you'll win this tonight, Sasuke!" remarked Kazuhiko as he gazed at the racer's form comfortably seated on his motorcycle. Sasuke nodded in agreement as he too, revved his engine like his opponents. The older man began to check his tires with an insanely maniacal grin plastered on his face. He's always like this when he could hear numerous engines revving up and the smell of gasoline tickles his nose as nostalgia begins to envelope him.

"Is it done?" inquired the raven-haired lad as he picked up his helmet and strapped it on carefully. Kazuhiko nodded enthusiastically and gave Sasuke a thumbs-up. Sasuke slightly nodded and confidently sat himself on his trusty motorcycle. He slowly glanced at his unknown opponent, a middle-aged man with auburn hair. It was his first time to race against him, and he did not know if he was a good racer or not, so he decided not to hit on the brakes and go all-out against this guy. He wants to win and he **needs**to win. He's already short of cash and he needs to pay for the brakes he took from Kazuhiko.

A tap on the shoulder from Kazuhiko broke Sasuke's train of thoughts. The race was about to start. Sasuke took a final glance at his opponent before he put on his trusty helmet. He positioned himself before the starting line and waited for the gunshot signal. He took a deep breath as he focused himself on the race.

Sakura squeezed herself among the crowd of people to get a good view of the race. She spotted Sasuke, who was already aboard his motorcycle. 'Good, I'm just in time.' Sakura thought as she sighed in relief. She watched the race marshal start his countdown. _Three. Two. One. _And the race was off.

Sasuke quickly accelerated and was soon the lead. He smirked behind his helmet at the thought of a sure win.

Along with the other spectators, Sakura gaped at Sasuke's performance as he zoomed away from his opponent. Sasuke was seen as a red-and-black blur against the fire-lit road they were having the race. Sakura smiled as the audience cheered for the raven-haired racer. 'He's good. He's… **great**.' Sakura thought, her full confidence on him. He was almost winning the race.

_Almost._

Sasuke knitted his brows as he sensed something wrong going on… He was slowly losing control on the motorcycle. Frustrated, he swiftly peeked at his wheels. Something slippery and shiny clung to his tires… _Slippery and shiny_. Then it hit Sasuke. Before he could do anything, he fully lost control and he began to zigzag on the racetrack.

"What is Sasuke doing?" Sakura remarked as she noticed Sasuke's sudden change in performance. She frantically scanned the surroundings for any sign of Kazuhiko. He might know something about this. As she started to turn, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Kazuhiko-san!" Sakura murmured.

Kazuhiko grabbed Sakura's shoulder to stop her. "We got to do something quick!" he said, panic evident in his voice. "He ran over a gas spill which I think was created purposely by his adversary." He stated. Sakura gave him a determined nod and quickly followed Kazuhiko who was squeezing himself amongst the crowd. Panic slowly overtook the brunette while Sasuke gained speed beyond control. 'This is bad.' Kazuhiko thought.

"Damn it, damn it DAMN IT!" Sasuke cursed behind his helmet. He knew he had to stop or else. But how could one stop a motorcycle which has lost control? Sasuke raked his brain for anything that could make this insanity stop while trying to keep his cool.

The middle-aged man who was Sasuke's opponent smirked behind his helmet. His plan is working. Now, he finally get to beat he speeding devil Uchiha Sasuke. Now he would be known in the drag racing world. He smirked even more as he saw Sasuke's motorcycle tilt dangerously to the left. 'He's going to hurt so bad he'll have to quit racing.' He thought.

The crowd watched the race in confusion. Sasuke **was **leading the race, but what's happening now? The crowd suppressed a yelp when his motorcycle almost collided with a pole. They were not expecting something like this.

Sakura stood there, feet firmly planted on the ground. She was unable to move anymore. She did not know what to do to help Sasuke. She was lost in her own chain of thoughts and it was only broken when she heard screams and shouts from the spectators. She quickly averted her gaze from the ground to the racetrack. There lay Sasuke's unmoving form, next to his motorcycle.

"NO!" Sakura screamed as she pushed her way out of the crowd and hurried next to Sasuke. She arrived there first to be followed by Kazuhiko. Sakura kneeled next to Sasuke and rest his head on her lap. Salty tears began to trickle involuntary from Sakura's jade orbs as she gently removed his helmet. There, she saw Sasuke, his eyes half-closed. He slowly focused his black orbs into the person he's lying at. With his blurry vision, he was surprised to see Sakura there. He didn't expect her to be here after what he said earlier. What confuses him even more is why she even bothers to be here. He wanted to stay conscious for long, but his body won't allow him to. Giving out a low sigh, he slowly closed his eyes in defeat of the pain nagging him.

_What now?_

_Why those eyes again?_

_Did I?_

_Did I make you cry again?_

**A/n: **I'm so sorry about the short chapter and the long delay! But I hope you understand that we have our finals. Thankfully, it ended as I wished! Yay! I was the top student! parties Whooopee! Okay… that was random.

Oh, I forgot to tell you guys that I'm making a Naruto doujinshi based on Naydell's fic **Just One World After All**. I really feel honored to be given permission to draw it since it's one of my favorite fanfiction here! I hope I could post it in the net! waves.

Whheeee! Responses!

SasuSakuforeva-iloveSasuke: thanks for the review!

AnimeSenko: I'm glad you liked this story! Thanks!

kawaii kitsune-kun: thanks! Yep, I really like Kazuhiko's character! He's so… fun to write! Ahehe!

kira-924: Here's the chapter about the race! Chapter previews.. nope, I don't do those! I hope you like this chappie!

LoStkOKo-sAmA28: Yey! I want to text you but I'm always running out of prepaid load! Heehee! Here's the update, I hope you like it!

Dreamstress Itako: Glad you like this! I can't make Sakura an unidentified racer since she doesn't know a thing about motorcycles… We don't want our little pink-haired girl to be injured, ne?

Dagorwen of Ithilien: Okay I'll try my best!

aNiMeangel: Waiting's over! Hope you like this chap!

Ichigo Engine: It's okay! I hope you like this!

ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH: Sakura riding a motorcycle… Good idea… I'll think about it!

Wake-Robin: Here's the chapter about the race!

ToMoYo129: Kahit gusto ko di naman ako maka-review sa'yo kasi may pop-up blocker na nilagay ang sira-ulo kong kuya! WAAAAAAAAH!

TriGemini: Thanks a lot! I reall, REALLY love your reviews! Hope you find this chap interesting as well… Even though it's bit short.

Sad4ngel: Hahaha! Kazuhiko's cool! Do you guys want me to make a 'lil fanart of out Kazuhiko! I'd love to!

animEvivvErz: Thanks for the informative review! I hope you'll like this chap too!

****

A/n: My deepest apologies to you guys for the late update and the short chapter…


	7. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer:** Nope...

**A/n:** Please read the author's notes at the end because I might say something interesting there. I would like to apologize for the LONG delay in the update of this fic. I know some of you might hate me, but we had no internet connection for more than a year so I couldn't update. I'm not much of an internet cafe person so I guess that explains it. I'll try my best to update regurlarly, so please don't hate me!

A Place We Call Home

Chapter Seven: The Aftermath

Sasuke woke up with a stinging pain throughout his whole body. He slowly opened his eyes and squinted a bit to let his eyes get accustomed to the bright lighting in the place. He felt lightheaded and wanted to sleep once more when he heard a familiar voice ring in his ears.

"Hey. You're awake."

Sasuke painfully turned his head to the right and saw Neji grinning mocking at him. Oh, how he wanted to punch the living daylights out of him, but unfortunately, he could not move even a bit. Maybe he'll save that punch for later. "Where am I?" he asked instead.

Neji sat himself on the chair beside Sasuke's bed and looked at the patient. "At the hospital, of course. And what the hell happened at the race? You let that idiot win against you." Neji fired at Sasuke who furrowed his brows. "Luckily you were able to avoid serious injury." He continued while pointing at the Uchiha's neck.

Sasuke lifted his hand to his neck and felt something around it. "What's this thing?" he asked the pallid-eyed male.

Neji looked amused. "A neck brace. You broke your neck during your fall. Good thing the bone fragments didn't enter your spinal column or you might've been paralyzed. The doctor said all you need now is a few months of rest and you'll be back to normal." Sasuke gulped. He stayed silent for a while but the moment he digested what Neji said he began to lose his control.

"What do you mean **a few months**! I need to get back to the racetrack as soon as possible! I need to pay my fucking debts, you understand! I don't need to be hospitalized for months! I don't even have a single fucking yen to pay this hospital! I-" Sasuke halted when a middle-aged woman wearing a white coat entered the room. She has blond hair that reminded him sickly of Ino. "Who the heck are you?" he asked the stranger.

"I'm Tsunade. I'm the doctor in charge of you, Mr. Uchiha." The woman explained, pointing at the metal nametag pinned to her coat's chest. "You don't need to worry about your bill. A man named Kazuhiko said he would pay for all of your expenses while you are recovering." She explained. Sasuke lowered his head when he heard that Kazuhiko was doing him such a big favor, but he frowned deeply when he realized that he's being indebted to him even more. "Well, I just came here to give you your medicine. Remember to have a meal before you take one of those." She explained. "Well, I'm going. I got other patients waiting for me." And she exited the room.

Silence that prevailed in the room was broken with the creaking of the door. Both men turned their heads toward it and saw Sakura, holding a bag of groceries. She was rooted to the spot when she saw the two of them stare at her like she was an unknown being. Feeling stupid, she broke the silence. "What?" she asked. At that, the two snapped off the reverie and both shook their heads as though they were brats being told off by their mother. Sakura grinned as she headed towards Sasuke's bedside table and placed her groceries on top of it. She then turned to Neji and began to speak. "Thank you for keeping an eye on Sasuke-kun while I'm away, Neji-san."

Neji nodded his head and stood up. "I'm not staying for long now. Hiashi-sama wanted me to do an errand for him." He said and quietly left. After that, Sakura sat on Neji's now empty seat and began to put the fruits she bought at the tray. She was interrupted when Sasuke called her name.

"Sakura." He said.

Sakura looked up from her tray. "What is it?" she asked the lad and waited for an answer. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but closed them again, hesitating.

"Uh, nothing." He answered and turned his attention to the widow on the other side of his bed. Sakura continued to arrange the fruits.

But after a few minutes of deafening silence, Sasuke spoke up. "Why are you still here?" he asked, not facing Sakura.

Sakura was taken aback at his question. "Well, I volunteered to keep an eye on you since Kazuhiko-san needs to open the shop today and Neji-san needed to go somewhere else." She answered. Slowly, Sasuke nodded, troubled by his neck brace. It is the first time he lost in a race and it felt as though his racing career is over. He wanted and needed to get back on track immediately. He doesn't want to be a burden to Kazuhiko and he hated it when he felt helpless, like he is right now. He sighed as random questions flashed through his head. How will he pay Kazuhiko back? How will he show up in school tomorrow with this stupid neck brace on? Then, he suddenly remembered something.

"Sakura." He said making Sakura lift her head to look at him. He had forgotten about her already. What fascinates him is why she even bothers to guard him when he doesn't even deserve it. "Aren't you going home?" he asked making Sakura jump in her seat, remembering something.

Sakura scratched her head meekly. "I forgot all about it. I'm sorry to leave you now, Sasuke-kun, but you just reminded me that I must go home now. My parents might return any moment now." Sasuke nodded, allowing her to go. "I'm really sorry Sasuke-kun, but I really have to go." She continued. "Hmm… I think I'll just leave a note to Kazuhiko-san. Are you sure you'll be alright all by yourself?" she asked, annoying Sasuke. He did not like being treated like a helpless kid.

"I'm alright, just go." He responded quite forcefully. Sakura backed up a bit both in surprise and fear. She took a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled a short note to Kazuhiko then slowly approached the door.

Taking one last look at Sasuke, Sakura said: "See you tomorrow at school Sasuke-kun." Then, she left. Sasuke sighed once again as he thought of a possible excuse why he has a neck brace.

Sakura exited the room then leaned on the door. 'Why does it seems that he hates me so much?' she mused. She stood up straight and began to head out the hospital. 'Did I say something wrong? But I don't think I did.' She was now at the streets, waiting for a bus that would take her home. She was so lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice that a speeding motorcycle was heading her way. Good thing she managed to avoid it the last second. The motorcyclist quickly took of his helmet making his silky black tresses fall back. It was Hyuuga Neji.

"Hey, are you alright?" the pallid-eyed male asked her. She just nodded briskly saying that it was her fault she was almost hit. The Hyuuga cocked his head and sat at his motorcycle seat and asked her. "What are you doing here? Going home?"

"Yeah. Sasuke reminded me of it." she explained. Neji snorted at her words leaving Sakura puzzled. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Let me guess." Neji started. "He snapped at you, didn't he?" he asked. Sakura nodded, remembering how he answered. Neji however wore an amused smirk on his lips.

"Say, is he always like that?" Sakura asked Neji out of pure curiosity.

Neji crossed his arms and spoke. "He doesn't like someone to be worried because of him. He's not the type to make friends, so if I were you, I'd just stay away from him." He told Sakura leaving her more confused than ever.

"But you're his friend." Sakura replied indignantly. Neji was somehow surprised at how Sakura **really** behaves. He did not know this goody-goody was really a strong-willed, stubborn girl. She keeps amusing him to no end. "Well?" Sakura said, impatiently tapping her foot, waiting for the Hyuuga's answer.

"Yes, I am." He said. "But your case is entirely different. We just became friends because we race and that's it. Don't go pushing yourself to be his friend." He remarked as Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Well, I guess I'll just go home. Thanks for the trivia, Neji-san." She said and boarded the bus that luckily, stopped by. Neji stared at her wide-eyed as if she suddenly sprouted tails and fins. 'Interesting.' Neji thought. '**Very **interesting.**' **And he once again rode in his motorcycle and zoomed off.

Sakura stared outside the window and stared at the stores she was passing by. Neji's words resounded in her head.

_"He doesn't like someone to be worried because of him. He's not the type to make friends, so if I were you, I'd just stay away from him."_

Sakura sighed in defeat as she slumped on her seat. 'I guess I'll take his advice. I'd just steer clear from him, if that's what makes Sasuke happy.' She thought.

**A/n:** Hi guys! I'm here to apologize once again for the late update. I wanted to update this sooner but we still don't have a phone here in our new house. Yep, we moved out so I hope you understand. I got to spend a few weeks carrying luggage around so I couldn't update! Anyway, I hope you like this chap and the next one. Don't you think Neji's nasty, telling Sakura to stay away from our dear Sasuke-kun? This fic has the largest number of reviews among all my other fanfics! I'm so happy that you really like this one! I'll try my best to make it better for you guys! I love you!

Dun dun dun! Responses!


	8. Returned

**A Place We Call Home**

Disclaimer: If Naruto were mine, there would be a mushy love triangle there by now.

**Chapter Eight:** Returned

Sakura sped through their front lawn hoping that her parents weren't home yet, which luckily, was the case. She heaved a sigh of relief before letting herself collapse on the couch. She hoped that Sasuke would be alright and would not force himself to do anything which is not fit for his condition. She had to admit that she couldn't stop worrying about the motorcyclist who seemed to regard her as a slab of unappealing meat on a stick. She's just worrying over one of her 'friends'; nothing wrong with it, right?

She was about to fall asleep on the couch when the door creaked open and two pairs of footsteps were heard. She jolted up from her lying position and saw her mother and father. "We're hoome!" her father said in a loud, sing-song voice. What made her parents into such a good mood was a wonder to Sakura, but at least they look happy, and that's what's important now.

"Sakura, how's you're weekend?" her mother asked as she was stepping on to more comfortable slippers. Her mother was now fanning herself with her hand and was evidently tired, but was also evidently glad.

"It was alright." Sakura wanted to say 'It was a blast!' but of course, it would trigger an endless array of questions from her ever-inquisitive mother so she settled for a safer response which earned a smile from her mother.

* * *

Sakura double-checked her bag for anything she forgot. Seeing that everything was inside, she gently closed her locker. She was about to turn to leave for her next class when she remembered she ought to pay Sasuke back for the money he lent her. Yanking her bag open, she took a beige envelope which enclosed some and went to Sasuke's locker and was about to insert the envelope in it when a hand slammed on the locker, stopping her. Her heart was racing in her chest as her eyes trailed from the hand to the owner's body. It was Yamanaka Ino.

"I didn't know you're an admirer of him, Haruno." Ino said; her voice evident with contempt towards the other girl. Sakura's eyes widened at her accusation and shook her head. "You're mistaken Ino, this is not what you're thinking about." Sakura explained. Her voice was shaking. She feared the blond girl for she was known to launch into catfights as long as it is about her beloved Sasuke-kun.

"Oh really?" said Ino, now walking around her and surveying her from head to toe. Sakura's uneasiness was so evident that the hand that clutched the enveloped tightened. Noticing thins, Ino grabbed her wrist. "Then could you please explain this?!" Ino clutched the hand that was holding the enveloped. Sakura wanted to explain everything to Ino but couldn't find her voice. The other woman raised her eyebrow at her.

Suddenly a stronger hand took Sakura's wrist and freed her from Ino's grip. Sakura looked at its owner and saw the familiar face of the Uchiha. Sasuke was looking directly at Ino, who seemed to have been petrified, his eyes blood-red with his sharingan which appeared whenever Uchihas were extremely pissed off. "It's not what you think, Yamanaka." He said in a flat voice and in a much gentler manner, took the envelope from Sakura. He opened it and took the money, making sure that Ino saw it, before stuffing it on his jeans pocket. For a split-second, Sakura thought he gave her a look which seemed to be apologetic before walking away from the two. She sighed inwardly and bowed her head only to see a crumpled beige envelope on the floor.

* * *

"I see." Hinata said after hearing Sakura's story about her parents being absent on her weekend. Of course, she told him about her encounter with Sasuke' however she chose to spare some details.

The door slid open and Kurenai-sensei entered. She was holding a wad of leaflets that Sakura thought she would distribute to the class. The class greeted her with a rather monotonous 'good morning'. Kurenai-sensei nodded in return and surveyed the class for any absentees and was surprised to see Uchiha Sasuke sitting on his chair. He was on time for the first time.

"Mr. Uchiha, it's a wonder that you're on time; for the first time." came Kurenai's remark.

There was a pause before Sasuke answered. "I'm not early. It's just you're incredulously late today." His answer earned a round of chuckle from the class, wounding the ego of the teacher and definitely ruining her day. However, Kurenai-sensei chose to let it pass and proceeded to distribute the leaflets to the entire class.

On the other hand, Sakura wondered where Sasuke's neck brace have gone.

"Sakura-chan, anou… are you going to join the field trip?" Sakura's best friend asked, her pearl eyes fixed on the leaflet Kurenai-sensei gave them earlier. They were supposed to go to a rice research field and observe the different methods they use to produce genetically modified rice that are resistant to plant diseases.

"I guess so." Sakura answered. "After all, the stuff we'll learn in that trip will be included in our final exam. With that, everyone will have to join whether they like it or not." Hinata nodded for she will have to agree with that. "Then I'll sit next to you on in the bus, Hinata-chan!" Sakura offered with a smile.

"Hai!"

* * *

"And I thought you're not into that." Kazuhiko said, suppressing an urge to laugh. Sasuke on the other hand, tightened his grip on the wrench he was holding. He stopped at Kazuhiko's shop to check his motorcycle. After all, it did sustain quite a damage after that racing incident. Once Sasuke saw that filthy cheating opponent of his, he would make sure that that bastard will never see the light of the next morning again.

"So, tell me, what brings you here?" Kazuhiko asked, not taking his gaze from the motorcycle. Sasuke slumped on the bench and brought a hand to his neck which still is painful. "And I told you not to take that neck brace off."

"Who cares about that, it's a turn off for his fans." Came Neji's voice from behind Sasuke. Neji had just arrived and was now taking the liberty of annoying Sasuke. The Uchiha scoffed at him and turned to Kazuhiko. "I need money." He said directly.

"I thought so." Kazuhiko said, standing up. He took a piece of cloth from his workbench and wiped his sweat of his forehead with it.

"You're so stupid Kazuhiko." Said Neji, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "That's not a towel. It's a rag."

"Eh?" Kazuhiko blinked and stared at the cloth he took. True enough, it was his rag. "Oh shit!" he yelled and ran to his bathroom.

"Was he really a champion racer?" an uncertain Sasuke asked Neji.

"Beats me."

Tsuzuku…

* * *

**A/n:** I would like to apologize for the ultra-late update of this fic and for this chapter—nothing really happens in this chap, but please bear with me. I promise that the next chap would be better, a bit fluffier for all ye fluff fans, but I promise that the fluff will not drive them OOC. It's like fluff Sasuke-style. Also, I came across a plot bunny today and I wanted to start another SasuSaku, so please send me feedback if you want that fic to start now or save it for later. Thanks for reading!

I'll be very happy to receive reviews!

Happy Halloween!


	9. A Random Act of Kindness

**A Place We Call Home**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, but I own Sasuke. looks at Sasuke pointedly Oh, who the hell am I kidding…

**A/n:** Early update for everyone! Haiya! Enjoy reading!

* * *

Chapter Nine: A Random Act of Kindness

Sakura idly sat on one of the stone benches at the town square while waiting for Hinata to arrive. It's been two weeks since Kurenai-sensei gave them the field trip leaflet and today would be the day of it. It also has been two weeks since she talked with the Uchiha, let alone a glance or anything. Well, he did tell her to stay away from him, so she was just doing her best about it—even though she found it difficult to oppose what she really wanted to do. She felt drawn to the lad like he possessed a peculiar magnetic field of some sort and she were a piece of iron attracted to wait. Wait. Attracted? No, not **that** kind of attraction. It's like she felt responsible for the lad and wanted to be always there for him and somehow break into his mind and see what's going on in there. She felt comfortable round him even though he seems as though he couldn't care less about her.

Sakura shook her head, making her thoughts disappear; she shouldn't be worrying about those now when she is supposed to have fun this day. Also, she could tell that Sasuke would not be joining the trip for all she knew, he'd rather stay home and tweak at his bike all day than sit idly in a bus and get down to study about rice.

"Ohayou, Sakura-chan." The voice made Sakura look up in front of her and saw Hinata wearing the same timid smile she wore everyday. She grinned at her in return and noticed her cousin standing an arms length away from her. "Ohayou, Neji-san." Sakura greeted.

Neji glanced at her and cocked his head in her direction as a response, which Sakura didn't saw for she stood up and started gathering her things and started walking with Hinata towards the bus when Hinata spoke up: "Anou, I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I'm afraid that I couldn't sit next to you in the trip."

"Eh? How come?" came Sakura's reply.

Hinata was about to speak when Neji interrupted. "Hiashi-sama asked me to keep an eye on Hinata-sama." Sakura looked at Hinata who just nodded. She sighed and gave Hinata a sheepish smile, assuring her that it is alright. After all, Hinata is the only daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi and the heir to the Hyuuga group of companies. It's a good thing that she doesn't travel around with a pack of bodyguards around her. Well, Neji serves that purpose and does the job better than a bunch of bodyguards.

The trio climbed the bus and took their seats. Sakura took the seat at the back of Hinata while Neji sat beside his cousin. Other students started to get in the bus a well and took their seats before the designated time of six o'clock which was the time they were supposed to leave. Sakura could hear the indistinct chatter of her classmates who sounded very excited about the trip and glanced at her watch. _Five fifty-nine._ It was almost six the bus's engine had already started, filling the bus with the cool air from the air-conditioning unit. Kurenai-sensei, who was with them with the bus stood up in the middle to make an announcement.

"Minna-san, it is already six o-clock and we are going to leave. Please take extra care of your belongings for no one would be liable for any loss except yourselves." She turned to the driver, signaling him to leave and pressed the button which closed the door. However a hand stopped it from doing so.

"Hey aren't we leaving, Kurenai-sensei?" came a voice from the back of the bus. However, the teacher kept silent and eyed the person who managed to get in the last minute. Sakura craned her neck to see who that was and saw raven hair and onyx eyes. _Uchiha Sasuke._

Sasuke handed Kurenai a receipt which showed that he paid for the trip and surveyed the bus for any vacant seat. He stopped himself from wincing when he heard Ino squeal and pushed Kyoko, her best friend, from her seat. The poor girl on the other hand, stumbled in the middle of the bus's aisle and yelped in pain. "Sasuke-kun! Here's a seat!" giggled Ino as she offered the lad the seat next to her, which he didn't take. Instead he went looking for Neji.

"Sorry Uchiha." The pallid-eyed lad said. "Hiashi-sama's orders, you see." Sasuke scoffed at him and took another step forward only to see an empty seat beside Sakura. After all, who would want to sit next to the nerd? Seeing that it is safer to sit there than next to Ino, he let himself land on the cushioned seat with a soft plop. Seeing that everyone is settled comfortably, Kurenai motioned the driver to start.

"I thought you weren't coming." said Sakura in a hushed voice, but audible enough for Sasuke to hear. She wasn't looking at the lad, afraid to be scrutinized under his icy gaze.

"Hmp."

Ah well, Haruno Sakura did not expect an answer anyway.

"Well, I'm here." He replied, not looking at her as well.

* * *

Sakura stared outside the window during the entire trip. She wanted to start a friendly chat with the lad beside her, but failed to think of a topic that could perhaps spark his interest. She was tired of receiving "Hmp"s, "Hn"s and "Aa"s for answers. She wanted to drum her head on the glass window when the bus halted.

"Everyone, before you leave the bus, kindly take all important personal belongings with you." came Kurenai's voice as she ushered the ones seated near the front to the door. Sakura stood up when she saw Neji and Hinata rise and so did Sasuke. The pink-haired girl, as soon the she stepped outside the bus and into the sunshine happily bounded next to her best friend who was side-by-side with her cousin. Sasuke simply glided next to Neji without uttering a word. They followed their classmates as they entered IRRI (International Rice Research Institute).

* * *

"Here at IRRI, our aim is to develop new rice varieties that were, when fertilized, will have higher yield than traditional varieties. The new varieties are shorter and less likely to fall over, which made them easier to harvest mechanically. They also ripened sooner, reducing the risk of poor weather affecting yield, and enabling farmers to harvest and replant several times during the growing season." explained the woman working at the institute as she lead the group around the building, stopping every now and then to let the students ogle at the different exhibits at the lobby. "Rice breeders at here and other research facilities are now trying to increase yields through genetic engineering. They hope to create rice varieties that are genetically designed to require less fertilizer, resist insects and diseases, tolerate poor soil, require less irrigation, and photosynthesize more efficiently."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and uttered an exasperated sigh. He didn't understand a word the woman was saying. Neji saw the jaded expression on the other lad's face and let out a small smirk which the Uchiha caught. Sasuke gave him a dark stare and tried to focus his attention to something else. He caught a flash of pink and glanced back and saw Sakura immersed in writing what the woman was saying while nodding her head in agreement. He wondered what she found so interesting in the woman's words.

* * *

Sasuke slumped on his seat the moment they returned in the bus. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura rewriting the notes she took earlier. He never understood why she was burdening herself with such tasks he found so… meaningless.

Sakura noticed Sasuke looking at her and turned to look at him, giving him a little smile. Instead of looking away, like most others would do, Sasuke kept his gaze where it was. "Why are you looking at me, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura inquired, her green eyes fixed on the lad's face.

"Who said I was looking at you?" Sasuke denied. "I was staring at the window." He said before averting his gaze to the front. Sakura managed a small 'Oh' before putting the cap back on her pen. "I thought you wanted to borrow my notes." Mumbled Sakura as she took two canned sodas from her bag and offered one to Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at the soda before he took it, quite reluctantly, I might say. He opened it and took a sip before he pulled the built-in makeshift table provided in the bus and set the soda can on it. "Where would we use the notes?" he asked.

"Well, the final exam will be comprised mostly of the things we learned here in this trip." Sakura said, trying to open her own soda can. Sasuke nodded and took Sakura's notebook from her lap and looked at it.

"Make me copy of your notes." Sasuke said.

"What?" Sakura blurted. Was this man beside just ordered her to do something? Not that she was being mean, but it's absurd when the person who obviously was disgusted by your presence asks an unmistakable favor from you. Sakura sighed and decided not to argue and simply nodded, thinking that she'll just have it photocopied. Once again, she curled her index finger on the soda can opener in an attempt to open it again when she heard Sasuke sigh from his seat and quickly took Sakura's soda, gently, though, and opened it with ease before giving it back to Sakura.

"T-Thanks." Sakura murmured and took the soda can from Sasuke and took a sip from it. She never thought that Uchiha Sasuke could be gentlemanly that she chuckled whilst sipping her drink that she chocked on it, making the lad next to her almost jump from his seat. He shot her a glance and saw her facing the window, choking. He grabbed her shoulder in an attempt to make her face him, but Sakura shot her left arm up, like saying 'I'm okay'.

Sasuke wrinkled his eyebrows, not convinced that she was "okay". "What do you want?" he asked, leaning on his side and looking at her back. He lifted his hand to pat her back for he knew that it could ease the situation—not anything else—when Sakura spoke in between muffled breaths.

"Just… Ugh… tissue." She said. He choking on the soda made the drink regurgitate back, unfortunately, taking a wondrous exit through her nose. Sasuke, not wanting to open somebody else's bag and rumble her belonging, simply took his handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to the girl beside him. Sakura took it, not bothering to look at it and started wiping her face, particularly her nose, with it.

"Thanks" she managed to say after making sure that her face was free of the soda snot. Her jade orbs met his onyx, and she swore that he saw the slightest tinge of worry in those before he averted his gaze at his front. "You're so careless." He managed to say, putting all his effort to make his comment into a frigid, snide remark.

Sakura looked down both in embarrassment and in distress. Now Sasuke dislike her presence even more. She sighed. "I'm sorry." She said, sniffling a bit before fixing her gaze at the scenery that zoomed by.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her sentimentality before finishing his own soda and crushed the can with all his strength. She was so… touchy. Well, at least it would teach her not to become all giddy-giddy with him. This would be much… better.

Better.

Sasuke heard a noise as though a hard solid object was colliding with another. Looking at the girl beside him, he saw Sakura leaning on the glass window, asleep. Her head was banging on the window as the bus drove over a rather rugged path. Sighing, Sasuke gently placed his hand over Sakura's right cheek and pulled her over him so that she was leaning on his shoulder. He blinked gently before he let his chin rest on the girl's head—he wanted to rest his injured neck, his eyelids now droopy for want of sleep.

_Better._

_This is so much… better._

An unnoticed tear slid from Sakura's closed eyes.

Tsuzuku…

* * *

**I took these from Encarta.**

**A/n:** Hello everyone! I hoped you all liked this chappie! I tried to make the fluff here not so fluffy so it would be realistic for both Sasuke and Sakura. Also, notice that of all the places, I chose IRRI! It's because IRRI is located here in my country, Philippines, and I've gone there so writing about it would be quite easy for me. I really enjoyed that place because it's so nice, although some of my friends would just have to disagree with me because they call it a "nerdy place". Ah well, the nerd inside me is speaking. Yay for genetic engineering!

**TriGemini:** Thank you for the review! Happy reading!

**Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90:** Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy this chap!

**EvilFaerie17:** Heehee! Thanks for the review! Well… The other fic would be a SasuSaku romance/tragedy. Bittersweet, eh? Oh, it'll be AU also. Happy reading on this chap!

**Mi-to-chan:** Yay! eats candy Oh, the phone's okay now. No need to worry! Hehee! Thanks for the review!

I'll be working on the next chap now! I'm hoping to hear from you readers! Tell me what you think about this chapter and review! Thanks for reading again, and I love you!


	10. Real

**A Place We Call Home**

**Disclaimer:** No Naruto for me.

* * *

**Chapter Ten:** Real

Sakura grasped the notes she just photocopied with shaking hands. Ever since that incident with Sasuke's locker she dared not to try and leave the notes for him there; but such a choice would have to force her into walking up to him. Ever since that field trip event she wanted to keep her distance away from the lad—she felt that he was utterly annoyed and disgusted with her presence, it made her feel pathetic. Perhaps if she kept away from him she would feel better… and so would he.

Sakura slid open the door to her classroom and went straight to her seat. Kurenai-sensei was not yet there. Sakura licked her lips and dutifully took out her algebra book to try and answer some exercises. Math and numbers would definitely take her mind off her worries. She was halfway though the problem when she registered a presence took the seat beside her. "Ohayou Hina—"she spoke, for all she knew, the presence was Hinata's, but was mistaken. Onyx eyes were not Hinata.

"Do I look like a girl or something?" The Uchiha belted out in a voice that made his question seem more of a statement. His eyes were directed at the girl beside him and saw her flinch. Sakura shook her head and handed him the copy of her notes he asked for without uttering a word; and Sasuke took it. Sasuke was not the type to study, but he needed to this time, for if he didn't, he will not graduate. After all, the ceremony was scheduled within that month and the final exam was in two week's time. He rolled up the wad of paper before he stood up and wordlessly walked past Sakura to his seat.

"Arigatou." He said to the air the moment he sat down.

* * *

Sasuke contemplated as he lay sprawled on his bed. Since that field trip, he noticed that he felt unnaturally comfortable and at peace whenever he neared the presence of Sakura. Perhaps he was amused by the girl's personality. She was charming, yes, and he had to admit that. Somehow, he felt weak and tangible whenever his skin brushed past hers, and when he leaned on her in the bus, he felt real—the hollow feeling that was always inside him vanished at her touch and was replaced with the feeling of warmth and he felt that he was alive. That feeling of warmth…he wanted to experience it again. He blinked and closed his eyes to sleep, only to dream of something pink.

* * *

Neji put on his helmet and got on his motorcycle. He was in Yamanaka district with Kazuhiko. He was going to race that night against an opponent who was new to their district. He stared with his pallid eyes at the person before he let out a smirk behind his helmet. He was certain to win. He kicked on the starter pedal which started his motor and waited for the race marshal's signal to start.

_3_

_2_

_1_

_Go!_

Neji pulled on the twist throttle on his handlebars and accelerated onto the road. He smirked as he expertly tilted to the left while maintaining his balance. _This is going to be a piece of cake._ He leaned closer to the bike to make it go faster and pulled the throttle once more for even more speed. He glanced at his bike's mirror for want to see his opponent in a distance from him, but was shocked to see that the opponent was just at his tail. "Shit." He muttered from inside his helmet and let go of the lever, which released his brakes. It made him zoom away from the contender in a distance of about two meters. His adversary, on the other hand, noticed that Neji finally became aware that she was someone who mustn't be underestimated, leaned closer to the bike and released the brakes. The opponent's bike quickly accelerated and was now almost side to side with Neji's.

The crowd erupted in cheer as they saw the two racers struggle to gain a lead from the other. It was truly exhilarating; they didn't know who would win. The only remaining decisive point in this race was the last curve on the road before they hit the finish line.

Neji concentrated on the road ahead of him—the final curve of the road will be his only means of winning. He tilted his handlebars to the right to gain the more advantageous position of the curve. He looked at his side and saw his opponent doing the same as though they were thinking alike. The Hyuuga twitched his eyebrows. He never knew that this newbie racer was so good; he mustn't have underestimated the person. Not wanting to lose, Neji leaned dangerously to his right, his body mere inches from the street, but he still maintained his perfect balance. He took the curve and shifted his weight on his other side to get his bike into an upright position. He could see the finish line—but he could also see his opponent at his side. In a final attempt to gain a lead, Neji leaned even closer to his bike that his helmet was in contact with it. It gave him a slight speed boost before he crossed the finish line along with the opponent.

The crowd howled as soon the race was over. They haven't seen such a race since "Kamikaze" Kazuhiko's time. Whoever the newbie was, that person was sure to be among the ranks of the "Speeding Devil" Uchiha and "Whirlwind" Hyuuga.

Kazuhiko ran to Neji with an idiotic smile plastered on his face. "Neji, that was such a good race." He said joyfully after giving Neji a pat on the back. "Your move on the last curve, when you were practically inches from the ground, it reminded me of my good old racing days! Haha! I used to do those all the time! Death-defying moves! You won, but just by an inch though."

Neji pulled the helmet off his head and stared at his opponent who was just stepping off from the bike. Whoever it was, he's good. He looked at the person as he took off his helmet. Who could he be?

The helmet came off the adversary's head and light from the street lamps illuminated the person's form. Brown hair styled into two buns on both sides of the head and brown eyes which shone of determination. It was not a he. It was a she.

"Shit." She cursed as she brushed away a few strands of her auburn her from her eyes and looked at the man who beat her.

Tsuzuku…

* * *

**A/n:** Hi everyone. Chap 10 up! Not much of a SasuSaku interaction here because I just have to put Neji's race in the story. Wee! Tenten's here! I've been much of a NejiTen fan lately so my inner self is just screaming "Put here in the story!" so here it is. Don't worry though; this will still be mainly SasuSaku with NejiTen every now and then. Now let's just wait for a bit for NaruHina.

**Responses for the reviews:**

**emeraldoni:** Thanks for the review! I'll do my best in relevance to that! Hope you liked this chap!

**UchihaSakura87:** Thanks! It's nice that they're still in character, but I kinda have a hard time making romance with Sasuke in character… So I guess this would be quite a long fic because I don't want to make Sasuke so nice all of a sudden.

**bloodyfeetwall:** Thanks! Hope you like this chap too!

**heartless soul:** Thanks! Hope you like the update

**TriGemini: **Thanks for the review. The answer is quite in this chap but not that quite. Wai! Sorry if that doesn't make sense.

**Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90:** thank you! Hope you love this chap!

**EvilFaerie17: **Thanks for the review! Yields, I mean the harvest of rice.

**Skyward: **thank you! Yep, I'm updating again! The plot bunny loves me again!

**complexity66:** Thank you!

**pinkLaLa-o3:** Ayos lang! Magtagalugan tayo! Salamat nga pala sa review! Wow, UPLB! Gandang ganda ako dun kasi madaming fields! Magka-skul tayo! Well, sort of. UPD po ako.

Okay, I just have to express my feelings here. I noticed that the recent chapters received very little reviews compared to the others, so I'm thinking, do the recent chapters (8 and 9) suck? I don't know, but I did my best when I wrote those. Or maybe the readers are mad at me for not updating for such a long time. I'm really, really sorry for the late update, and I'm trying to make up to those by making fast updates. So, please tell me what you think. I welcome everything from friendly reviews to flames. I know I'm moping, ugh, but I really have to get this off my chest. breathes I feel better now.

Hope you liked this chapter. I'm going to think now of the next one. I'd love to hear from you. Review!

- a teary-eyed Withering Princess


	11. All of a Sudden

**A Place We Call Home**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto; only the ramen.

**Chapter Eleven:** All of a Sudden

* * *

Sakura sighed as she flipped her textbook to the next page. The final exams were schedule for the other week but she had a habit of studying in advance a bit too much—well, not that Sakura herself wanted to, but rather her mom always nagged her to read and study whenever she saw her daughter relaxing just a bit. Of course, Sakura, being the ever-obedient daughter, would simply nod her head and drag herself up to her room while she threw a longing glance through her window towards the cerulean sky, her emerald orbs shining with the saline waters of unhappiness.

She blinked and became aware that tears threatened to spill from her eyes down to her pale cheeks. Handkerchief in hand, she hastily daubed her eyes with it to prevent the liquid from cascading down. She felt bad enough with what's there that she no longer needed another reason to feel dispirited and pathetic once somebody saw her at her current state.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain raven-haired lad was witness to everything. He stared at her with a fixed calmness in his dark orbs which never seemed to stray from the borders of apathy. The lad lazily ran his hand through his dark hair and cleared his throat not loudly, but enough for the girl below to hear. He smirked as he watched her look left and right for a sigh of another person. Obviously, she missed him for he was neither at her left nor her right. Sasuke snorted before he slid down from the tree branch he sat on and landed on his feet with ease, which startled Sakura.

"You look so annoying, crying like that." He said. His body rested against the tree trunk lazily. Sasuke bent his head down and looked at the girl who sat on the grass under the tree. Onyx met emerald. He held his gaze at her for a moment and spoke. "Exams aren't due 'till next week." She closed her mouth while she pondered on what to reply when the lad beat her to it. "You're sitting on my spot."

"Eh?" mumble a confused Sakura as she looked up at his dark orbs. Damn him for being a head taller than her and damn her for sitting on the grass, which made her look so tiny. She blinked and gathered her things that were littered around her while she spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was your usual spot—"

Sakura was not able to finish her sentence. "You can stay." Sasuke said as he plopped himself on the ground about a foot away from her and rested his back against the tree trunk. Sakura felt his shoulder touch hers and felt her muscles stiffen as thought electricity ran through her body. Sakura did not move, except that she tilted her head so just she could see the sky. "The sky." She said to no one in particular. "is so vast."

"Hn." Mumbled the raven-haired lad. He had no idea on what she said, but something compelled him to say something at the very least. "The more you exert effort to reach and hold the sky, the more difficult it gets. But when you stay put and not bother about it, it becomes simple." He did not know what his words meant, but he felt like saying them.

Sakura looked at him from her right with her eyes tainted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The Uchiha tilted his head so he, too, faced the sky before he spoke. "What I meant is that the more you frustrate yourself over something that isn't there, the more impossible it would be. But if you just take it off your mind, the more likely will it come to you, in the most unexpected way."

Sakura softly narrowed her eyes. "And the same thing applies to the sky?" she had never seen Uchiha Sasuke in such a pensive state before that she felt like it was not the Uchiha Sasuke she and the entire school population knew she was talking to.

The lad closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. "Hn. Just look at those astronomers. They are spending their lives on trying to build something that could go to space to be at the sky and other planets, but what they reach is just the physical aspect of it. They never see it as a whole." He glanced at his left and saw Sakura with her eyes full of interest. She nodded at him which urged him to go on. "But if you look at the sky from here." His gaze was back to the heavens. "you could see the entire sky, the sun even. And if you just reach your hand up" he lifted up his hand and let hi finger trace the edges of the sun. "you could touch the sky—not in a physical way but in a whole new one where it becomes your own."

Sakura stared in wonder at the lad and up to his hand which still traced the sun. she contemplated on what he just said. "You… may be right." She whispered quietly, but enough for him to hear and reached up her hand and traced the sun with him. "it may seem too simple-minded; a fool's reason" she said. "But you were right." Sasuke brought his hand down and looked at her as she looked at him. She then gently let her head rest on his shoulder. He froze, but he did not move. He did not pushed her, nor he flinched like he usually would—he just her. The same feeling of warmth once again lit up from the pit of his stomach.

The almost blissful feeling left Sasuke when he felt Sakura lift her head from his shoulder. He threw her a glance and saw her gathering her things. "I'm going to get some coffee." Sakura said after she stood up. "Would you like to come too?"

The lad stared at her while his fist curled into a tight ball as he contemplated whether to accept her offer or not. "Perhaps you would want to be by yourself." Sakura said and broke the silence which she took as a no. she was about to turn when she heard Sasuke stand up from the ground. She then looked at him over her shoulder and watched him dust his pants. He walked and stopped, next to her.

"Let's go." He murmured.

She gave him a warm smile.

* * *

Sakura sat comfortably in the coffee shop a short distance away from the motorcycle shop. She simply wanted to get some coffee from the school cafeteria, since they were at school, but Sasuke reminded her of what could happen.

"You'll get castigated by the Yamanaka if she sees you around me." He told her. Of course, Sakura had to agree with that for the lad had a point; but it did not stopped her from smiling at the thought that Sasuke thought about her welfare even just a little bit.

The pink-haired girl stared at Sasuke who was seated across the coffee table. She watched him as he tried to melt his coffee cup with his stare. His nose and mouth were concealed behind his hands which he held in his usual stance; crossed before his face.

Sasuke must've noticed Sakura's gaze that he shifted his eyes from his cup to her face. Meanwhile, Sakura embarrassedly looked down to her lap to avoid his eyes. Sasuke smirked from behind his hands while he stared at her with utmost interest; he eyed her unusually pink locks which fell a little above her shoulders. Obviously, she wasn't part of his "fan club" for all of them sported long hair. Whoever started the rumor that he likes long hair should be ripped to shreds and fed to the fishes right now. From her hair, his eyes fell on her forehead.

"You have a large forehead." The Uchiha commented. Sakura's hand automatically shot up from her lap to her forehead, her rosy lips curved into a small frown. She had been teased about it since she was little, that she already became accustomed to it. But still, she could not help but feel a little bad about herself whenever someone mentions it.

"I know." Sakura said. "It's hideous." She gave him a small apologetic smile as if her rather large forehead was of her own doing.

Sasuke looked at her just the same. He watched her took a last sip on her coffee. "Done?" he asked and Sakura nodded as she rummaged through her bag for her wallet, but Sasuke was quick to get his own and paid for the both of them. He exited the shop, Sakura at his tail.

As soon as they got outside, Sakura trotted to catch up with him. She lightly placed a hand on his arm and he looked at her. "Thanks." She said with a warm smile. He nodded slightly, accompanied by an "Aa." Once again, he started to walk, this time much slower, Sakura a little behind him. He then turned around to face her and poke her forehead with his index and middle finger, which caused her head to bounce back. "It's not hideous." He said and gently brought his hand from her forehead down to her cheek and cupped it. Sakura stared at him in utter bewilderment, her emerald orbs giving him a questioning look.

Sasuke noticed the look Sakura gave him, but paid no heed to it. He held her check and carefully tucked some stray strands of her pink hair behind her ear. He stared at her for another second before he turned his back at her. Sakura touched her cheek, still warm from the lad's touch. She wondered why he did it as she tried to ignore the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. Somehow, she felt that his touch was unusually warm.

"I'm going to Kazuhiko's place." Sasuke said from over his shoulder, the usual stoic calmness once again glazed his eyes as he looked at her. Sakura wondered if what just happened was real or was it just a figment of her imagination that perhaps her brain crashed from too much studying… or perhaps her coffee was drugged with hallucinogens. Nevertheless, Sakura nodded and followed the Uchiha to Kazuhiko's in hope that perhaps she could at least find some explanation there.

* * *

"I never thought I'd be seeing you again, Sakura!" sang Kazuhiko as he shook both her hands giddily. He then quickly ran into his garage and carried with him a stool as he emerged and offered it to Sakura. On the other hand, Sasuke went to his motorcycle which was parked outside, looking like it was brand new again.

"Oye, Sasuke!" called Kazuhiko form behind his shop counter. "Make sure you'll win the next race or else I'll sell you and your motorcycle to a gay club!" Kazuhiko laughed at his own joke, which caused Sakura to chuckle. Sasuke smirked at Kazuhiko. The guy had always seemed so happy running his shop although he doesn't get customers often, except for Sasuke and Neji. Maybe it's because racing and motorcycles have always been his hobby that he doesn't really care whether he earns a lot or not.

The shop owner dumped his tools in his toolbox. "You take that with you now. If Neji sees that you got that again for free, I'm pretty sure he'll stare me down into a puddle." He said. "He's been exceptionally in a bad mood since his race the other night. He barely won you know." He added.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "He doesn't get pissed with things like that."

"I doubt that." Said Kazuhiko. "You too would be pissed if you were almost beaten by a girl."

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened at the mention of the word girl. Sasuke snorted, an effort to force back a laugh that threatened to escape from his lips. Neji almost beaten by a girl… he just _have_ to see that and take the liberty of seeing the Hyuuga's feathers ruffled even for once.

"But isn't it dangerous?" interrupted Sakura. "especially for a female" she couldn't imagine a female donning a helmet to go head-on on a racetrack, especially a male-dominated one.

Kazuhiko looked at her. "It's dangerous. But if you just saw the race… it was unbelievable." His hands flailed in the air in huge circles in vigorous enthusiasm. Somehow, the carefree demeanor of Kazuhiko managed to reassure Sakura about racing. But still, her furrowed brows stayed the same.

Sasuke took notice of the expression on Sakura's face. He took his helmet which hung from the motorcycle's handlebars and held it between his hands. "Kazuhiko, we're going. I'll pay for this when I win. Tomorrow." He motioned to his motorcycle. Kazuhiko pocketed his hands and shrugged, but nodded nevertheless before he went inside his storehouse. Sasuke looked at Sakura and motioned her that they must leave. The girl then stood up and approached him and was quite surprised when he put the helmet on her head and rode the motorcycle.

Sakura stood the, dumbfounded on what to do. She only moved from her spot when Sasuke shot her a glance which looked like a "what-are-you-standing-there-for" look and carefully, she sat herself behind Sasuke, her hands clutched the fabric of his shirt in fear that she might fall. She heard Sasuke give out an impatient grunt and gave her an annoyed look over his shoulder before he took her hands and looped it around his waist. "You'll fall if you don't hold on well." He simply said and started the engine.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura called from behind Sasuke whose gaze was fixed on the road, his raven hair dancing with the wind. Her arms were wrapped tightly around Sasuke's waist and her head rested on his upper back as he drove the vehicle. The awkwardness she felt when Sasuke pulled her arms around him was gone as quick as it came. In some such way, she felt safe around the lad. The more she spent time with him, the more she feels his loneliness that she knows that he keeps behind his emotionless mask. Somehow, this made her want to save him from whatever turmoil he battles inside.

"What?" she heard Sasuke reply as he slowed down and came to a complete stop near Sakura's house. He set his foot down and looked at her descend from the vehicle.

"Do you have a race tomorrow?" she asked bluntly as she pulled the helmet off her head and handed it to Sasuke which the latter took.

"Yes."

Sakura's eyes widened. "But, you're not even fully recovered yet!" she blurted. He took off the neck brace when he was still supposed to be in it, and now he plans to race! Sakura could not believe it nor will she let him.

The lad heaved an impatient sigh. "Do not tell me on what I should do." He said flatly. "Don't try and muddle into what I do. Go home now. Not a word or anything. Or else."

But Sakura was stubborn. "But Sasuke-kun—" she was cut off when a strong hand found its way at the back of her head and pulled her towards the lad before her, his lips crushed into her, drawing her into a sudden kiss.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock when she came into her senses a second later. The lad's lips were still against hers. The pink-haired girl tried to pry the lad off her but she felt her strength leave her as though her entire body was slowly turning into noodles. Then, she felt Sasuke's other hand graze her back and pulled her closer. Sakura then closed her eyes and gave in to the kiss, her hands now rested against Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke opened his mouth and let this tongue trace Sakura's pink lips, as though asking for permission to enter. Sakura then parted her lips slightly and granted entry to the welcome visitor, her own tongue danced with his. A burning feeling blazed inside the two people as both deepened the kiss. However, Sakura broke up the kiss for air, her forehead rested against Sasuke's forehead. She breathed and could also feel Sasuke's breathing against her face.

Sasuke brought his hand to her cheek and caused her to look at his eyes. "Or else I'll do that." He whispered. His voice sounded raspy, sensuality overflowing from every syllable he spoke. He closed his eyes and gave her forehead a gentle kiss. "You trust me, don't you?" he asked the girl in front of him, her eyes still glazed in dreaminess of the just ended kiss.

She looked at him. "I do." She whispered, still trying to find her voice. She had never seen Sasuke's orbs look so gentle.

"Good." The Uchiha said. "You don't have to worry. I'll be okay tomorrow." He murmured and placed a feather-light kiss on his lips before he put on his helmet and went on. Sakura watched him zoom off into the distance until he disappeared from her view, still too stunned to move from her spot. She brought a hand to her lips which he kissed just a while ago. A passionate kiss. A sudden kiss. A first kiss.

Meanwhile, Sasuke focused his gaze on the road while trying to remember how Sakura's lips felt against his and how her body seemed to fit his in his embrace. It was perfect.

"Or else." He said to himself.

_Or else I'll kiss you._

_Or else I'll fall in love with you._

_Which, unintentionally, I already did._

* * *

Tsuzuku…

* * *

**A/n:** Hi guys! Whee! So here it is, the eleventh chapter! It is longer, since you requested it! I hoped you all liked it! Finally a kiss scene. I wanted the kiss to still be in character, but I think I failed. I got carried away! Personally, I think Sasuke was a little bit (about 5) OOC here. I'm sorry! I want some mush! Feel free to bite me! My favorite part in this chap was the last three lines in italics. Haha! Love them!

So, what do you think about this chap? Do you think that Sasuke-kun's a bit OOC or everyone's definitely in character? Tell me about it and click the cute little button down there and review! Thanks! Next chap's coming soon!

Of course, review responses!

emeraldoni: Thanks so much! I was about to wallow in self-pity. Hope you like this chap!

heartless soul: Hope you like this one too!

m e h – m e h: Wow, nice. Ako dahil probinsyana ako lagi akong nabibigyan ng questioning looks pag nag-slip ako sa aking regular vernacular. Malalalim na Tagalog ahahay!

Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90: Aww… Thanks for that. Hope you like this chap too like those two!

aNiMElUver234: Tanks for the review! Lot of reviews told that, so I did a longer one! Hope you like it!

TriGemini: Thank you for the review! Your review are always informative, love them! Hope you like this chap as well.

complexity66: Oh my God! I now love you! Hope you find this chap good as well! hugs complexity66

EvilFaerie17: No prob! Hehe, I thought the same when I reread the last chap! Poor Neji, almost beaten by a girl, but there'll be good stuff in store for him! Whee!

pinkLaLa-o3: Waw astig! Pareho na tayo! Tama, torture ang tema ng Dili! Hehe! Nakakapag-ehersisyo ng ako ng di oras dahil sa haba ng nilalakad! Workout ito! Mas mahaba na ang chap ngayon, dami nagsasabi ang ikli daw. Hope you like this chap!

Mi-to-chan: Hehe! It's okay. Yay for Tenten! Hope you like this chap!

And so this ends our review responses part! Hope everyone enjoyed this chap. Review and stay tuned for the next one!


	12. Love Found

**A/n:** Hello there guys! I'm back! Hell yeah, I'm still alive and kicking! Sorry for the long inactivity on my part; I got too absorbed with writing my original story and doing other school-related stuff that I kinda forgot to update here. I'm really, really sorry for the long delay, I hope you still would want to read this. Anyway, let's now proceed to the twelfth chapter of this fanfic called:

**A Place We Call Home**

**Chapter 12: Love Found**

_Or else I'll kiss you._

_Or else I'll fall in love with you._

_Which, unintentionally, I already did._

Sasuke berated himself for acting like he did earlier. He shouldn't have kissed her, he thought, but it was beyond his self control to do so. The more he tried to resist the candy-haired lass, the more he succumbs to her innocent allure. Funny, he thought. It was a bipolar connection. He was dark, she was light. He was vile as she was pure, yet they seem to be drawn to each other. No, drawn was too much of an understatement. For some unknown reason, Sakura seemed to be the only person who could break through the façade the Uchiha built. At first, this annoyed him, but he learned later on to admit that truly, this girl is unlike others around him. She is so different from them all that she made him experience a gamut of feelings he thought he was not capable of. And yes, she made him feel love.

Sakura leaned against the door of her bedroom the moment she stepped in. Her entire body was still shaking that she feared her own legs could not support her. Slowly, she let her legs buckle and down she went on the floor. Her heart was beating against her chest and she could already hear it, ever so loud. It was a big question why Sasuke kissed her, but it was a bigger question to her why she just let him do so. It was not as though they were in love, weren't they? Or were they?

* * *

"Sakura-chan, you look tired. Is anything wrong?" Hinata timidly asked as she took the seat next to her. She noticed that her pink-haired friend had dark circles under her eyes and was dozing off most of the time.

Sakura looked at her and blinked. She wanted to reply with, of course, I haven't got a blink of sleep last night because that kiss with Sasuke kept me awake—but no, she couldn't just blurt it out like that. "Oh, I had been studying last night." she replied instead and Hinata seemed to be satisfied with her reason. Sakura gave her a smile and turned back to her book and happened to catch a glimpse of the lad whose kiss deprived her of sleep. From the corner of her eye, she saw that he was looking at her. Sakura gulped, and pretended not to notice. But Sasuke knew too well that she did and was just pretending not to.

Dismissal came and Sakura stuffed her books into her backpack. She wanted to talk with the Uchiha, but at the same time, she didn't want to. She wanted to have some clarifications about yesterday's episode, but she wasn't the kind of person to walk up to him and demand an explanation, much to her chagrin. Sakura heaved the bag on her back and started to walk toward the school gates. Perhaps she might as well forget about the kiss entirely. It was not as though the Uchiha was to feel love, not towards her, at least.

She was nearing the school gate when Sasuke came to walk past her. "Wait for me by the stop sign on the first curve from here." he whispered and went on his way. To others, it was simply Sasuke walking past Sakura on his way home, but Sakura knew better. Talking about their stuff at school would not even be an option, thanks to the girls who have their crushes on the Uchiha.

Sakura walked to the spot Sasuke mentioned. She wondered about herself. She knew she could've just walked home instead of following what Sasuke told her, but chose to do what he said nonetheless. She arrived at the said spot and waited for the raven haired lad, who appeared a minute later, motorcycle in tow.

Sasuke looked at her and nodded in acknowledgement. He handed her the helmet. "Get on." he commanded.

The pink-haired girl was puzzled, yet did what she was told. Her instincts told her to trust the onyx eyed lad, and she did just as that. At first, she had to admit that she had been wary of the lad because of his not-so-good reputation at school. But the more she spent time with him, she realized that he had his own gentlemanly ways tucked somewhere within his otherwise cold and snobbish attitude. She rested her head against his back as he expertly maneuvered the vehicle on the street. The cool wind rushing past against her skin made her forget all of her worries and made he feel as though she was born to experience that kind of feeling along with the lad.

The motorcycled slowed down to a stop when they reached a small downslope leading to a river. Sakura took the helmet off and followed Sasuke and sat down the grassy slope. She looked at him inquiringly. "What did you bring me here for?" she asked.

Sasuke sighed and plopped himself down on the grass, with both his arms behind his head as pillows. "To talk." he replied.

She turned to look at him. "About what?"

It took him a moment before he gave her an answer. "About… things." Sakura gave him a quizzical look. "I know it's absurd, but I just… can't stop thinking about you." the Uchiha said finally, shooting up a look at her.

A blush crept on Sakura's cheeks, and was made redder by the soft orange sunset. She felt a strange, but welcome queasiness in her stomach, and turned her face away from him. The sides of her lips quivered and threatened to rise up into a smile. "W-what are you talking about?" she asked. She wanted to stand up and run away—far, far away from the Uchiha, but her knees seemed to have buckled permanently and she was as helpless as a newborn kitten sitting there. All because of this beautiful brooding boy.

"Can't you feel it?" he asked, but it sounded more like a statement. She was silent. Sakura had her face turned away from him that he could not read the expression on her face. From her cherry-pink hair, his gaze went to her shoulders then her arms which was propping her up from the grass. In one swift move, he grabbed her arm and she lost her balance, toppling over Sasuke, who was lying down. His hand still held her wrist and her head was upon his chest and she could hear every intake of breath he took and every beat his heart took. She tried to get up but the lad's strong arm held her in place. "Feel." he said.

Sakura gulped. Feel, he said. What, she asked herself. And then it came to her. The soft tinge of the sunset, the warmth of his hand, the slow rising and falling of his chest, his arm around her, his steady heartbeat. _Feel_, she repeated. And yes, she just did. Slowly, she raised her head and her eyes met his. He looked at her, his onyx orbs had its same look as he did before, but there was something else—the look of warmth he only gives to her.

"Do you feel it?" Sakura asked, her voice almost a whisper.

Sasuke nodded

Sakura smile as she rested her head on his chest again. "I feel it too." she replied. "Love."

…_Tsuzuku…_

* * *

**A/n**: I know! This is a ridiculously short chapter, but after typing all of that mush, I knew I have to stop. Haha. After an extremely long bout of author's block particulary on this ickle ficcie, I'm finally back, and yes, I'm still alive! I got too absorbed on writing my other story, an original of mine. I think I'll get a fictionpress account some time later for that.

During the months (or as it a year?) of inactivity, your reviews cheered me up the most. And after some semesters of writing classes, I felt that I must continue this. I hope the stuff I learned in those classes made me write better, even though my professors know how bad a writer I am.

I sincerely would like to thank all the people who continue to support this fanfic. I made a promise that as long as at least a person reads this, I will not abandon this. This is to say thank you to all you guys who read and review. They bring me great joy. I hope this also brings you yummy Sasusaku joy in one way or another.

So there it is, my long tearful rant after a long absence. Updates will come out regularly now. Thank you all and let's continue to support Sasusaku!

Merry Christmas to you all!


	13. You Win Some

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 13: You Win Some

* * *

No amount of pleading could ever stop our raven haired lad, even if it came from a certain jade-eyed girl whom he was unusually fond of, thought he wouldn't directly admit it. In the end, Sakura just satisfied herself by being among the anxious spectators waiting for the race to begin. The heart was thumping against her chest and her stomach felt queasy—and she wasn't even the one to race.

On the other hand, Sasuke was feeling rather placid despite the fact that this race could make o break his career as a drag racer. One look at his opponent told him that it was definitely a newbie, and a pretty weak driver—his shoulders were too tense when he gripped the handlebars, but still one couldn't blame the poor guy. Who wouldn't feel nervous if your opponent would be Uchiha Sasuke, the famed "Speeding Devil" who had a record of 28 wins and 1 loss?

Sasuke could just smell victory in the air.

"Look Sasuke." said Kazuhiko as he handed the racer his helmet. "I know this is a pretty cheap race. I mean, just look at the poor guy. But always be on your guard, just in case something like last time happens again. You'll never know."

"Hn." And he put on his helmet and revved up the engine. The crowd cheered. "I'm doing this for the money anyway." Kazuhiko nodded and watched the other lad zoom towards the starting line of the race.

Sakura's anxiety escalated when she saw Sasuke position himself just behind the starting line. The crowd around her cheered and bounced in ecstasy, and she was pushed in all directions. It was one heck of a ruckus to Sakura, who was used to order, and the metal drums and cylinders with burning debris inside did not help. The smell of burning rubber filled the air and made her nauseous. It was far too menacing atmosphere for her. In the end, all she could do was watch as a scantily clad female bearing a checkered flag made her way between the two racers.

"Hooooo-kay! Here we are again, goddamn bastards!" hollered a young man through a megaphone. He was wearing a musty gray overall and a black beanie. His face was striped with black with what seemed grease. "Time for another race!" The crowd cheered. "Toooo-night, we have quite a menu! Speeding Devil Uchiha!" He gestured towards Sasuke and his motorbike and the crowd erupted. Sakura noticed a shrieking group of girls wearing leather and denim mini skirts and fishnets jumping up and down at the mention of his name. Obviously, the lad's following extended from the school to the drag racing world.

"Aaaand his opponent, we have here Silver Bullet, Shin!" There was clapping, but nowhere near the sort Sasuke received. From inside his helmet, Sasuke let out a smirk. "Racers, ready your engines! Let's see who will win this race! Will the silver bullet slay devil, or will the devil make hell break loose? In three, two, one…"

A gunshot was heard and the racers released their brakes and accelerated. Sasuke zoomed and left only a blur, while the other did the same, only slower. Sakura nervously watched Sasuke as he gained speed. He was ahead of his opponent a good deal, but showed no sign of slowing down. He kept his speed even as he approached a curved. He was merely inches from the ground as he turned which wowed the crowd.

"U-chi-ha! U-chi-ha!" chanted the crowd as they raised their fists up in the air. They were definitely enjoying the show the speeding devil was pulling off. Nobody paid attention to the other racer who called himself the Silver Bullet. Beside the Uchiha, his speed was a joke.

In the midst of the chanting and screaming, Sakura stood lightheaded. She was filled with worry and tension despite the fact that Sasuke was doing well on this race. She did not even budge when the people around her shrieked and screamed in unison when Sasuke reached the finish line. She just stood there, her jade eyes following the Uchiha and his motorcycle.

Sasuke dismounted his motor bike and pulled his helmet off. The blare of cheers and squealing fangirls greeted his ears, as he nonchalantly walked to Kazuhiko who was standing next to the race facilitator. Kazuhiko greeted him with his usual goofy grin and handed him a wad of money. "There 'ya go. I already took the money you owed me." Sasuke nodded as he flipped the crisp bills between his fingers. "Oh yeah, I remembered! Get Sakura from over there, she doesn't seem well to me." he said while pointing to the direction of the rugged spectators.

"Shit."

Sasuke tore through the large crowd towards the direction Kazuhiko pointed. The task proved to be difficult as there were numerous hands and arms blocking his way and gripping his jacket. People were asking him for autographs and pictures but he paid no heed to them. He recklessly brushed them away and continued his pacing until he saw the certain pink-haired lady he was looking for.

"Sakura." he called as he gripped her shoulder and wheeled her around to face him.

She looked at him with weary green eyes. "Oh, it's you. Hi there, congratulations." Her face as flushed. Sasuke lifted his hand to feel her forehead and clicked his tongue as he felt its heat. He placed his palm by the small of her back and led her through the crowd towards his motorcycle. The swarm of people split to make way for them as if it was the sea Moses split. Sasuke could her the people murmur as they passed them.

"Who's that girl? She pretty cute!" said a guy with tanned skin.

"I thought Uchiha Sasuke doesn't have a girlfriend."

"T-this can't be!" said a brunette with heavy makeup.

Sakura looked at him with her groggy eyes. "Ne, Sasuke-kun, I'm not sick, I'm alright. I can go home."

"Ch." was the Uchiha's reply. "Just get on." and he helped her onto the motorcycle before he rode and started the engine and left, leaving the crowd in wonder. Impulsively, they all looked at Kazuhiko at the same time.

"W-what?!" a flustered Kazuhiko interjected.

* * *

The wind felt crisp as it blew against Sasuke's pale cheek. He liked to ride his motorcycle without his helmet on, especially on nights like this when the air was cold. He liked the feeling of his skin getting raw and numb from—it was pain and pleasure at the same time to him.

He stole a glance at his motorcycle's mirror to look at Sakura. She was weakly latched onto him. He saw that her eyes were half-closed, and that her mind was drifting between sleep and consciousness, perhaps the brought by her exhaustion and fever. Heck, how dare she come up with a fever when he had practically showed of at the race for her? He could've won it even if he was on his mediocre speed, but the fact that she was among the crowd made him go all out on his opponent—not that he'd tell that to anyone, anyway.

Uchiha Sasuke let out an annoyed grunt as he dismounted from the vehicle in a swift motion, quickly wrapping a strong arm around Sakura's waist and shoulder to help her dismount as well and guided her inside house. He fumbled for the light switch on the wall and clicked it on, and uttered a yelp as Sakura walked towards the wall, her still-helmeted head colliding with hard concrete, and fell on her back with a thud.

The lad rushed to her splayed-out form on his floor. He would have laughed at her if she wasn't sick. There she was, the goody-goody girl of his class, lying like a splattered egg on his floor, the teacher's enemy number 1. Not to mention she was wearing a helmet. She looked like a Power Ranger of sorts. He knelt down beside her and sat her up, and pulled of the protective gear from her head. Her hair fell down in a sweaty, sticky, tangled mess.

"Mom, I don't remember us having a wall over there." she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Sasuke heaved her up to a standing position. "We're at my house." He watched as the expression on her face turned from weary to panicked. She took an unsteady step towards the nearest door, not knowing whether it led outside or not, and felt her knees bend in. Sasuke caught her just in time and led her to the couch.

"Sasuke-kun, I have to go home, my parents will be worried sick about me and" she pleaded, but a flying alarm clock cut her off. She tried to catch it but her poor reflexes due to her fever prevented it. It fell on the couch and she picked it up. "That was not funny."

Sasuke, who walked into the kitchen after he chucked the alarm clock to Sakura, peered his head out to look at her. "You'd be in more trouble if you go back at this hour." and he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Sakura sighed. Her breath felt hot and the back of her eyes burned. She was definitely going down with a fever. She placed a palm against her forehead and felt her skin hot beneath it as she glanced at the alarm clock for the time. "Goddamnit!" she shrieked. A tumble of what seemed to be pot and pans echoed from the kitchen. Sasuke appeared and raised a dark eyebrow at her.

Sakura saw Sasuke emerge from the kitchen and pointed a finger at him. "You!" she shrieked, her eyed livid with fever. "Uchiha Sasuke, you son of a bitch! It's all your fault, now I can't go home!" Sasuke was stunned as he heard those cuss words form from her lips. He never imagined it was possible, and found himself amused at the rather uncanny shift of the genteel girl to her feral side. "You fucker!" she threw the alarm clock at him.

Sasuke dodged it as he stepped to his side, but regretted it. The perfectly functional clock a minute ago was reduce to nothing more than a heap of broken plastic and gears and springs after it crashed on the wall. Sasuke blinked. This was not the well-mannered female who was his classmate. That person was someone with soothing, feminine charm. This, he noted, as he looked at her as she stomped around his living room while tearing on her hair in a fevered frenzy, was a wild animal—but he couldn't hide the smirk playing upon his lips as he acknowledge the fact that this wild animal also exuded enticing feline appeal. He found that he preferred this unrestrained side of her. It was… attractive.

He took a step towards her and saw her straighten up. He wondered what her next antic would be with bated breath. She was amusing, amusing.

Sakura's jade eyes narrowed at the sight of him. "You…" she drawled and teetered towards him. "You bastard! I'm going to skin you alive, and tear you into pieces, and feed you to the dogs, you fucker!" she bellowed as she lunged at him. Sasuke grabbed both of her wrists to stop her and was surprised at her strength. She was like a man! He took a step back to steady himself from her force and maneuvered to her left and gripped her around the waist from behind. Curses flowed from her lips like a cascading waterfall—some of the curses he had never even heard before. She squirmed at his grip and managed to turn around to face him. "Fuckface!" she shrieked and grabbed him by the head. Sasuke was taken aback and before he knew it, he was on the floor, in a painful headlock.

"Sakura!" he choked as he tried to release himself from her vice-like grip. "Get off!" He pushed himself to his knees and tried to shake her off him. It loosened her grip and before she could recover, he flung her on the floor, not making that much of an impact since they were already on the floor. And he didn't want to hurt the rosy-hairy girl he was growing fond of every passing second. And as he saw that Sakura was still trying to sit up, he did the first thing that came to his mind in order to stop her.

Even though it was hurling himself over her form on the floor.

Sakura yelped at the weight that descended upon her and looked up and saw that Uchiha Sasuke was lying on her, his face merely inches from her own. His strong arms pinned her wrists to the floor. She felt whatever strength that was in her a minute ago rush out of her body. "Get off me. Now." she hissed.

Sasuke let out an arrogant smirk. "Try me." he replied, his voice husky and almost a whisper. Sakura did not know if he was trying to seduce her or that he was really exhausted. His face was so close to hers that she could count the fine hairs that formed his perfectly arched eyebrows and every bead of sweat on his immaculate face.

Haruno Sakura, faked a sweet smile as she bent her right leg from underneath Sasuke. She blushed as her knee touched a lump, but could not help herself from breaking out into a very, very wide and impish smile as she saw the lad's eye's widen. "Well, I certainly would _love_ to smash my knee into your balls and cook some scrambled eggs from it.

Sasuke gulped as he felt her knee brush his crotch. He looked at her, and he knew that she was laughing at him behind those green eyes of hers. "I… I'm going to bite your nose off." he announced, though he knew that it was pathetic compared to her threat.

A raised eyebrow was Sakura's reply, along with a sarcastic "Really?". She bent her leg even further. She even taunted him by swaying her knee side to side, brushing against loins. A faint red rushed to the Uchiha's cheeks.

"Fine!" Sasuke blurted out and pushed himself up to a standing position. He turned away from her to hide his obvious blush and to wipe the beads of sweat on his face. When he looked at Sakura, he saw that she was leaning with one hand against the wall, fighting a series of giggle from erupting from her mouth. Sasuke never felt so humiliated in his life.

"You should've seen how you looked like, hahaha!" Sakura chanted in a singsong voice as she followed him to the kitchen. He popped two containers of instant noodles into the microwave, both already filled with water. He tried to turn a deaf ear on her and pretended not to hear her. His poor, poor manhood…

"I bet you couldn't bite off my nose!" she cried, jutting out her nose.

"I could." Sasuke mumbled.

"No you couldn't." she chattered and sat on the kitchen counter. "You were just scared for your balls."

Sasuke stood up and walked in front of her, the corner of his lips curled up in an unmistakable smirk. "I wasn't."

"You were."

"No." He took another step to her.

"Then bite off my nose."

"Oh?" another step.

Sakura jutted her nose.

Sasuke leaned, his mouth inches from her pert nose.

She stuck out her nose even more.

Sasuke leaned forward, closing the gap between her nose and his mouth. Sakura was scared for a second, thinking that he was serious. But fear fled her as she felt his warm lips resting on the bridge of her nose. Sasuke cupped her cheek and his lips slid downward from her nose to meet her petal lips. He kissed her, very gently, very slowly, like he was kissing something made of the most fragile of things.

She kissed him back, ever so gently, as well, thoughts of going home pushed back at the farthest regions of her mind.

Tsuzuku

* * *

A/n: Yay, chapter 13! Haha! I couldn't stop laughing while I was writing that "fight" scene between Sasuke and Sakura. I felt that I have to bring out Sakura's Shippuuden side here, so she was like that, sick and all, and livid. Hopefully this will herald the character change she will be having in the later chapters, so stay tuned for the better, tougher Sakura in the later chaps. I think Sasuke was OOC here. Forgive me…. I just couldn't resist.

Summer class here starts next week. Damn it. I hate the dormitory and the heat and the classes. Summer load's not that heavy, so I guess I could continue writing between classes heehee. I'm surprised that had lots of improvement the time I was gone. There's the Beta feature! Hahaha! But I don't know how to use it!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! R&R!


	14. Rebellion in Pink

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 14: Rebellion In Pink

Sakura woke up with the sun's golden rays touching her face. In the light of early morning, she looked like a nymph. Her pink hair was a tangled mess, but beautiful at that. Her eyes were like half-closed pools of bottle green and her cheeks were flushed pink with the remnants of the fever she had. Sakura yawned and stretched and pulled the covers off her lower half. She shivered as the crisp morning air greeted her legs and instinctively rubbed her palms on it. She stood up and tiptoed to the living room.

She smiled as she remembered last night. After the brief moment of peace, they had another argument. Sasuke insisted that she take his bed while he will just sleep on the couch, but Sakura felt that it was too much that she was already crashing in his house that she need not steal the comfort of his bed from him. She tried reasoning out with him, but he was as cooperative as a marble statue. In the end, Sakura gave in and took the bed while the Uchiha curled up on the couch which was too short for his tall form for it was a two-seater. Sakura liked Sasuke's room. It was painted blue and tidy, a far cry from what she thought his room would be. But what she liked about it best was his bed. It was not the fluffy soft bed she had at home; it was rather stiff, but it fitted his personality well. His sheets and pillows have Sasuke's scent which Sakura enjoyed. She drifted to sleep with the thoughts of the raven-haired lad drifting on her mind.

Uchiha Sasuke sat on the couch, rubbing his eyes. He heard a pair of footsteps growing louder as if approaching and stood up. He turned his head to his right and saw Sakura leaning on the doorframe.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn." Sasuke bent down and picked up his blanket from the floor and tossed it on the couch. He strode to the kitchen with the lass on his tail and pulled a carton of milk from the refrigerator. He set it down the table and took a glass from the sink. "Drink." He said, setting the glass down with a _clink_.

Sakura smiled and took the carton in her hands while she watched him pace towards the sink and brush his teeth. "How about you?"

Sasuke spat the mint froth. "I don't drink milk."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you have milk?"

"Kazuhiko gave me that."

"Oh." and she poured herself a glass of milk and gulped it down.

0

The two left the Uchiha abode soon after on Sasuke's motorcycle. They sped through the tree-lined avenue while the sun rose on the horizon behind them. Sakura felt dread brew in the pits of her stomach as they drew nearer the curve Sasuke was supposed to drop her. They both understood that whatever wrath that was waiting in her home, Sakura had to face it alone. Sakura sighed as she pushed back her anxiety to the back of her mind. She woefully stared at the motorcycle's side mirror that imprisoned the rising sun.

The vehicle slowed to a stop and Sasuke propped up the motorcycle with a leg. He looked at her gravely. "What are you going to do?"

She smiled weakly as she debarked. "I don't really know."

Sasuke stared at her for a moment. "If anything happens, you-"

"I know." she said.

"Hn." Sasuke breathed and started the engine once again.

"Sasuke-kun,"

He looked at her.

"Thank you."

The lad looked at her weirdly and went back the way they came from. Sakura heard him mutter a _"Tch"_ but her smile did not waver. When he disappeared from her view, she turned around and started walking home, a turmoil of thoughts spinning in her head. Her heart was thumping against her chest, she feared it would burst. Sakura chuckled nervously at the thought that she'd rather have her chest explode and her guts splattered around than face violent tongue-lashing which was about to ensue.

Haruno Sakura felt her stomach tighten as she stood in front of their house. From the outside, it seemed a perfectly normal house of two storeys. Its white walls were clean and seemed to be glowing against the morning sunlight;; any passer-by would take it to be a pleasant home, but to Sakura, it was a symbol of impending doom. She dragged herself towards the door and raised her hand and knocked. She waited.

The door swung open she was greeted by mighty slap that made her cheek burn. She lifted her head and her eyes met her mother's. Standing behind her was her father, wearing the same disgruntled face as her mother. "Mom, I," Sakura began, but she was cut off when the older woman grabbed when by the hair and dragged her in, ignoring Sakura's pleading and whimpering.

"Haruno Sakura!" her mother shrieked as she let go of the pinkette to give her another slap. Tears threatened to spill from her green eyes but she bit her lip to stop them from streaming down her cheeks. "You are such an irresponsible girl, what do you think you're doing?!" Another slap. "You've always been giving us problems! You insufferable brat! I can't believe I have a daughter like you!"

Sakura faced her mother, her cheeks now wet with tears. "Mom, I didn't mean to make you and dad worry." she sobbed.

"Hah!" her mother interjected as her father continued to stare contemptuously at her like she was some horrid criminal. "Don't you realize what your father and I might have felt? Of course not! You have always been so selfish, thinking only about yourself, you brat!" she once again grabbed her daughter's pink hair and threw her on the floor.

Sakura felt her insides writhe in anger as pained seared through her body. How dare she talk to her about selfishness? All her life she has been doing what they wanted her to do, giving up all her other interests and her own life for it. "Mom!" she yelled back and got on her feet. "All my life, I have been doing things I don't like to do. I gave up being myself to do it—to do it for you! How dare you talk to me like I'm some selfish monster! I… I hate you!"

Her mother's eyes went round as saucers and she delivered another slap. "How. Dare. You."

Sakura faced her, her green eyes now burning with fury, her heart galloping wildly at the sudden outburst of all the emotions she kept bottled up in her life's entirety. "You took my life away from me." she hissed, every word dripping with venom. She took a quick glance at her father and stepped back. "I've had enough. I've had enough of being your slave. I'm leaving."

She turned her heel and strode off to her room quickly and shut it close before any one of them could follow her in. Tears fell freely from her eyes like a waterfall. She grabbed her black traveling bag and placed it on her bed. She flung open her dresser and took out as many clothes she could and stuffed them in her bag. In a smaller bag, she jammed in her books and notebooks. She knelt down the floor and reached under her bed. Her hand felt around the underside of the bed and she let out a sigh of relief when she felt it. She took it and pulled off the tape that held it fast against the bed's underside. It was a small envelope containing her bankbook. She already had a bank account under her name joint to those of her parents, but she secretly opened her own just in case of emergency, though she never knew something like this would happen. Sakura put it in her bag and slid the two on each shoulder and turned, not even taking another look at her room.

She flew down the stairs with an aloof look on her face. "You're not going anywhere." said her father, following her by the door and taking a grip on her arm.

She looked at him in the eye. "Oh yes I am." she hissed and yanked her arm out of her father's grip and quickly left.

0

Haruno Sakura's shoulders drooped from the weight of her bags. Her heart was still thumping against her chest from the scene earlier. She sighed. Perhaps she had been too brash, she thought, but she knew she was right. She would have to assert her decision and let her life take a new turn.

Sakura stopped walking when she came in the shade of a tree. She had no idea where she would go, or what to do. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she fanned herself with her hand and scanned the area. She was at the exact same spot Sasuke dropped her. Sakura wondered if Sasuke was in his house when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She turned and saw the young man she was thinking of.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"You look like a mess."

Sakura took a look at herself, and truly, she looked like a mess. Hair stuck on her face made sticky with the combination of teas and sweat, and her cheek still had a slight redness and painful tingle. "Oh…" she muttered and tried to fix herself.

Sasuke gave her a scrutinizing eye. "What happened?" he asked.

"I left."

"What do you mean you left?"

"It's too much. I can't take it anymore, so I did. I have to." She watched Sasuke sigh and he took the bags from her. "I thought you left."

"I thought something like this would happen so I came back." He went to his motorcycle which was parked a few meters from the tree and put the bags behind the handlebars. He rode the vehicle. "And I was right."

Sakura smiled and hopped on her usual seat and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's waist. "Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

"Hn." Sasuke revved up the engine and they rode toward the sunrise this time.

0

Tsuzuku

A/n: Short chapter! But I don't want to mess up the "theme" so I decided to cut of off right here. Stay tuned for the next one! I hope you enjoyed this chap, now that our story is taking quite an interesting turn. Thanks for reading! R&R!


	15. Defiance

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 15: Defiance

o0o

Uchiha Sasuke fished the key to his house from his pocket. Behind him stood Sakura, her hands timidly tucked behind her. The lock clicked and he pushed the door ajar. He turned back to get the bags and saw Sakura at it.

"I can do that." he said, taking both bags from her and strode in. Sakura followed him and stood behind the couch and watched him gracefully set them down on the floor. The young man then leaned on the wall and crossed his arms.

"Sasuke-kun, don't worry, I'll be looking for a place to stay so I won't be here for long." She crouched and zipped the smaller bag open. "I'll look for someplace today and if I can find one, I'll be out of here before dark."

The Uchiha approached her form and crouched too. He took the bag she was holding and zipped it back. "You can stay." he muttered, his long bangs covering most of his face, trying to hide the faint color rising to his cheeks.

Sakura looked up and met his ebony eyes. "But Sasuke-kun-"

"I'm not demanding you to stay." he said, getting on his feet. "But there's room for another person here."

A smile played on Sakura's lips as she looked at the lad with ebony hair. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"Aa."

Sakura watched the lad bend down and lift her belongings effortlessly then pace to his room. Sakura stood up and followed him, her eyes curious as he deposited them at the foot of the bed. Sasuke looked at her. "You'll stay here." he said.

Sakura's eyes widened. "But Sasuke-kun, what about you?"

"I can handle myself."

"But…" Sakura trailed off. "Maybe you have another room where I can stay?"

Sasuke sat at the edge of his bed with a soft _plop._ "There's no other room."

She stared at him with disbelief. Of course a house would have at least two bedrooms! "You've gotta be joking me."

"There are other rooms, but I highly doubt you can stay in those."

"How come?"

"Turned them into storage."

"All of them?" Sakura was incredulous.

Sasuke crossed his arms and spoke, "Aa. I have to lock away some things." _Some memories._

The pinkette looked at him earnestly. She knew about the tragedy of the lad's family—it has been the talk about of the town a few years back. She felt sorry for him that he had to encounter such catastrophe—if it were to happen to her, perhaps she would break—but then again, she realized, their families were different.

"I don't need your sympathy." he said, as if he could read her mind. "I'm used to being alone."

Sakura smiled wistfully. "Then why are you letting me stay?" she asked, and when the man she was talking to replied with silence, she murmured, "Perhaps a little change of scenery won't hurt." The grin on her lips got broader as Sasuke's face twitched halfway between a smile and a sneer.

0

Footsteps echoed on the cold stone corridor which leads to Sakura's homeroom. She and Sasuke had an agreement that they go to school separately, which meant that Sakura would wake up earlier to walk to the bus. Apparently, the reason behind Sasuke's habitual tardiness is that he takes his motorcycle to Kazuhiko's shop every morning, and walks to the bus. Puzzled, Sakura asked him why not go to school in his motorbike, but found reason in his actions when Sasuke argued that he doesn't want anyone to know about his business, saying that her knowledge about it was already much of a burden to him. He needs not other people pestering him about it, he said. Of course, Sakura knew that he wasn't that serious when he told her that; she was already used to the lad's behavior.

"I'm quite sure it was him!" said a familiar high-pitched voice that made Sakura turn her head to look at its owner. Sakura saw Ino and her band of girls emerge from the restroom, their faces carefully made up. Sakura turned back to her locker and pretended to be looking for something, while she pricked up her ears and listened to their conversation.

Ino leaned against her locker a couple of steps away from Sakura's own. "I was in our car, you know, and there was this weird crowd, so I looked out to see what they were looking at. Then I saw this guy—I swear it was Sasuke-kun!" Sakura stiffened at the mention of the lad's name. "They had the same height, hair, and even the way they walk! But I didn't get the chance to look at him well because we were far from him and he already put on a helmet. I was about to go out but our driver already came back so we have to leave." Her two friends uttered a sigh of dismay, as they, too, were frustrated. Ino and her group were only interested in a few things: shopping, fashion, makeup, and boys; therefore, the news of someone "Sasuke-like" was a big issue to them. Sakura felt a pang of jealously at the thought of these girls hovering around Sasuke like bees, not that Sasuke would even care to look at them, anyway.

"Don't worry, though. I asked our driver about it, and apparently, there are weekly drag races near the border of our district," continued Ino, with much emphasis on the word _our._ She belonged to one of the richest families in their city, and they owned a large strip of land which was named after them. Their family spearheaded the industrialization of the then town of Konoha, commercializing its land by setting up a mall, and the more recent, hotel, which shot up the town's income until it officially became a city. Sakura thought it noble that their family actually took their town and molded it into a city without having to destroy much of nature within and around Konoha. The town still painted with the green hues of leaves, its namesake. However, while she was pleased with how the Yamanakas run their business, she could not help but worry about it when the time would come that her flaxen-haired classmate would have to be in charge of it, since she was the sole heir to their business, given that she had no siblings. Sakura doubted if Ino could handle all the accounting she would have to do when the heiress could barely pass her math. Perhaps if there was a subject about fashion, or boys, she would probably get the highest grade on it. Or maybe even be the one to teach it. "And guess what, I'm going to watch the race next week. I may get to see the hottie and have a chat or two with him." Ino let out a giggle that sent a wave of anxiety through Sakura that she dropped her book.

The noise made Ino take notice of her. Catching a glimpse of her pink locks peeking through the small slots of the open locker door, Ino immediately knew it was Haruno Sakura. She was the only one in school that had pink hair. "Well, if it isn't Sakura." her voice drawled.

Sakura bent and picked up her book, and turned too see that Ino was walking towards her. Her instincts told her to run the opposite direction, but her mind commanded her that she stay at least for the sake of her dignity. She decided the day that she left her parents that she would assert herself more and quit being the feeble ninny she used to be. Looking at Ino, her lips broke into a faux smile. "Good morning, Ino." Sakura looked composed on the outside and only the quickened pace of her heart betrayed it, though Ino would never know. Sakura for a moment though that her heart would tear itself away from her chest and splatter itself against the blonde's face in a lumpy red mess. The pinkette tried her best not to laugh at the image she conjured in her mind.

Ino raised a blonde eyebrow. Never has she seen Sakura so gutsy. "What are you doing over there? Eavesdropping?"

Haruno Sakura smiled sweetly at her. "Oh, you're very much mistaken Ino. I was not eavesdropping, and if ever I was, you needn't to worry I heard any valuable information, since your conversation is quite, well, senseless." Sakura knew hell would break loose.

Ino's jaw fell, dumbstruck, though she quickly regained her composure and placed her hands on her hips and adopted a more domineering pose. "Watch your tongue, miss goody-two shoes."

"Of course." Sakura began, "And you, your grades."

Ino's face contorted in fury. What Ino need least was to be reminded that her grades were dangling dangerously low, so low that she was on the verge of not graduating. Sakura could see the foundation on her face crack up like patches of dry soil where her face crinkled. "Fuck off, you freak. Go put your head between a book and do what you do best, you brat. Say, what did your parents bribed you with if you aced this exam?"

Bitter memories rose to Sakura's chest at the mention of her parents. Even though she hated to admit it, she missed them. She thinks. But on deeper thought, Sakura assumed that she simply missed the food and the order she was used to there. Her eyes stung as tears welled up. She turned her head in time that Ino didn't see her eyes glassy with tears, and walked away, murmuring, "Hideous pig." She mouthed.

Ino called to her retreating form, "What did you just say?"

"Happy jig."

In silence, Ino wondered if the pinkette's parents would really dance to her.

0

Sakura sat on her usual seat in class. Sasuke arrived late, as usual and proceeded to his chair at the back, making brief eye contact with Sakura as he passed by her. What was going on between them and what happened to Sakura, was something they both agreed to not tell anyone.

A pointy object came in contact with Sakura's bare shoulder. She glanced down to it and saw that Hinata had passed her a sheet of paper. Discreetly picking it up, she acknowledged that it was a note.

_Sakura-chan, what happened?_

Sakura took the pen that was lying on her desk and took the liberty to write a reply when the teacher turned his back from the class.

_What do you mean?_

She slipped the paper back to Hinata's desk, and moments later, the sheet came back to her.

_Your parents called me the other day. They thought you were at our place. They seemed mad. Where were you?_

Sakura hastily scribbled a reply. She pitied poor Hinata had to be dragged in this mess.

_They __**are**_ _mad. They still are, and I guess I am, too… I left._

From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw her friend's pearl eyes widen in shock and scribble a quick reply.

_You left? But where are you staying right now? I can't think of anyone._

Sakura pondered if she could tell Hinata. She looked at her and their eyes met. Her milky eyes were filled with worry. Sakura averted her gaze from her. She could not hold it.

_I shall tell you… Later._

Hinata let out a soundless sigh. What could have happened to Sakura? Where could she have been staying? She pitied her friend from the bottom of her heart. Sakura have had enough.

The class ended quite uneventfully, save for the few glares that Ino sent in Sakura's direction which livened up the otherwise dull day. Sakura dreaded dismissal. Her body stiffened when she heard the last bell ring.

The scraping of the chairs against the floor filled the room as the students hurried to leave the room. Summer was fast approaching and everybody wanted to be out frolicking in the sun rather than being confined in stuffy rooms. Despite the approaching season, however, Sakura felt cold air sweeping around her, perhaps because of her unease. Sakura waited until Sasuke passed by her seat on his way out and lightly grazed her hand on his arm as he got by.

Sasuke turned to her and met her eyes which reflected urgency. "Something's up." she whispered barely enough for him to hear. He nodded his head and inconspicuously followed Sakura, making sure he kept a certain distance from her lest anyone might see. They reached the vacated corridor that lead to the gym and Sakura looked at him gravely.

"Hinata knew I left."

Sasuke blinked. Sakura could not have told her. "How?" he hid his hands in his pockets to hide his balled fists.

"They called her." Sakura replied. "They thought I was at her place, so she found out."

An exasperated sigh escaped from the lad. In the dim corridor, Sasuke's features accentuated, Sakura noted. He seemed glummer. "What now?"

"I can't keep this from her." Her voice was defiant, though Sasuke notice that it shook a bit. "Not when she's dragged into this mess one way or another. I'm sure she would keep this secret." Sakura placed a hand on his right arm lightly. "I'm sure." she murmured.

His other hand took the one resting on his arm. "Do what you believe in."

Sakura smiled and her hand squeezed his.

0

Hyuuga Hinata gasped. She and Sakura were sitting in an ice cream parlor, eating iced confection while Sakura told her the entire story. The sound made a number of the customers turn their heads towards the platinum-eyed lass, who turned beet-red under their surprised and curious eyes. Sakura simpered and nodded to them in apology, and the people turned back to do their business.

Sakura reached out for her friend's hand and touched it. She gave Hinata a reassuring look. "Don't worry, Hinata. He's not that bad."

A sigh escaped the Hyuuga's lips as she looked straight to her friend. "Sakura-chan, I never knew you and him are… acquaintances." Hinata swore to she had never seen the two interact, and often assumed that the lad despised Sakura. How the two became associated with each other, Hinata could not fathom. Yet, Sakura seemed to be at ease.

Sakura smiled and spooned a bit of strawberry ice cream to her mouth. "Well, yeah. I never thought we would be acquaintances, either." She carefully set the spoon down. "But don't worry Hinata. He's not like what you think. He's actually… nice. In his own way."

A smile found its way to Hinata's lips. The way her friend spoke those words made her feel better. She decided not to ask any more questions. If Sakura trusted him, perhaps she should, too.

0

Sasuke was sprawled lazily on his couch, impatiently waiting for his pink-haired tenant. That same moment, he heard the door squeak open and in came Sakura, carrying a plastic bag. Sakura smiled when she saw him and proceeded to take off her shoes. Sasuke appreciated the woman's tidiness, though sometimes, though sometimes, it made him feel messy in comparison to her, not that he was such that disorganized a person.

"I bought us some dinner." chimed Sakura, raising the plastic bag clutched on her hand. Sasuke nodded, and followed her form as it retreated into the kitchen. She seemed happier, he noted, remembering how flustered she was when she talked to him earlier. Standing up, he followed her into the kitchen.

"Hinata promised not to tell." she said, sitting on the edge of the table. She was done setting up dinner and to Sasuke's delight, she also bought tomatoes. He strode towards the sink where the fruit was and popped one into his mouth. Sakura watched him, her jade eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Good." he replied, swallowing.

Sakura folded her hands onto her lap. "Are you going to race next week?"

Sasuke took a step towards her. "Why?"

"Well, I overheard Ino and the other talk." The young man raised a dark eyebrow, and she continued, "Apparently, she saw you the other day when you were racing. She wasn't sure if it was you, though, so she said she's going to check it out next week. I'm just worried; you said you didn't want to be seen."

"I won't be." he replied. He drew nearer her, her knees were brushing against his thighs. "Hyuuga's racing next week. He was pissed off about his last race, he demanded for a rematch."

Sakura nodded, thankful that he wasn't up for next week, though it still bothered her that she might come the week after that. Sasuke couldn't stay out of racing simply because the blonde girl might see—she had finally came to accept the fact that Sasuke raced, a dangerous way of living, but he had no other means. She just made it a promise to herself to support him by making sure he was fit to compete. "Oh, I'm glad." Images of Ino finding out that Sasuke is a racer filled her mind. The blonde would most probably throw herself onto him. She knew Sasuke hated fangirl, but she couldn't help to feel the tug on her chest when she thought about it. Ino was pretty, very pretty. Her blonde hair shone like pale gold and her blue eyes sparkled like the ocean. She also possessed the body every man fantasized about. Beside her, Sakura felt like a freak with her pink hair and green eyes and her almost non-existent curves. And before she could think about it, a question escaped her lips. "What do you think of Ino?"

Uchiha Sasuke looked at her, curiosity flitting though his dark orbs for a split-second before a smirk appeared on his lips. "Why?" he asked.

Sakura suddenly realized her question and her face colored. "Uh, nothing. Everyone thinks she's the prettiest in school, so I just thought…" her voice trailed off.

He leaned towards her and planted his arm on the table for support. "Do you think so?" he asked, his voice nothing more than a husky whisper. Sakura could feel his warm breath tickle her cheeks which took another shade of red.

She gulped as she noted that he was hovering mere inches away from her. "I think so, I mean, wait, maybe you think she really pretty too, I'm just wonde-"

Sakura failed to finish what she meant to say when Sasuke's warm lips met hers. She instinctively raised her hands to push Sasuke's chest away—they were on a table, a dining table for God's sake!—but her intent and insecurity fled her as she rested her palms against his chest. Through the thin fabric of his white t-shirt, she could feel his well-toned muscles move as he leaned in more. She brought her hands from his chest to his nape and felt her skin tingle as his dark hair tickled her arm. Sasuke roughly placed a hand at the small of her back to prevent her from falling as he sensed her strength leave her as if she was melting. His other hand found its way at the back of her head, supporting her as her pink locks wove into his fingers. Heat flowed throughout his body and the hand on her back trailed down to her exposed thigh, pulling it around his torso. Her other leg imitated the other and locked itself around him as well. The kiss went for another few seconds before they parted, both gasping for breath, but in another second, Sasuke's lips was against hers again, this time, making a trail from her lips to her jaw to her neck and to her collarbone.

Sakura moaned as Sasuke began to suck her skin, making her head spin. She instinctively grabbed a handful of his hair and began to run her hands through it. It was so hot. She kept on moaning and groaning as Sasuke kept on his act, her voice getting louder and the heat between her legs intensifying every passing second. She longed to be his.

Sasuke broke contact with her skin for a gasp of air. She looked at her neck and smirked at the mark he made. He turned to her face and saw her, eyes heavy-lidded with desire and her lips, red and swollen. Her hair was also tousled a bit. It was a breathtaking sight. Her legs which were wrapped around him sagged and fell down, as her chest heaved up and down to help her catch her breath. He smirked and leaned forward and licked her lower lips. "Let's eat." he murmured.

Tsuzuku

* * *

A/n: Hope you liked this chap! Kinky kissing in the kitchen! LOL! I'm crazy. This is the first time I've ever written a scene as sensual as this, so forgive me about its crarry-ish quality. I'll try to improve. I'm also thinking of changing its rating from T to M, but I'm still thinking about it. What do you say? R&R!

P.S. I most probably make some Naruto fanart based on this fic. Be sure to check my deviantart account sometimes. There's a link on my profile.


	16. Silence and Sound

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 16: Silence and Sound

The page of Sakura's notebook was filled with doodles. Instead of taking notes like she usually did, she found herself oddly engrossed with drawing tomatoes until it filled the page. She inwardly sighed as she put her pen down and discreetly stretched her fatigued arm. It kind of bothered her that she now found the teacher's lecture tiresome—she used to never get bored in class despite the teacher's droning voice. But at the same time, her uncharacteristic boredom comforted her as it was an indication that she was slowly parting with her old self which reminded her of captivity.

Parting with her old self, however, did not exactly mean taking a 360-degree turn and becoming a negligent schoolgirl—Sakura made that a point. What she wanted to happen was to allow her real attitudes to surface. She knew that many see her as boring young woman who only knew how to listen and study; and she wanted all to see that there is more to her than that. She wanted them to meet the real her—cheerful, yet hotheaded; sweet, yet stubborn; thoughtful, but determined. Somehow, she knew she was making progress.

The lass shifted on her seat and propped her chin on her palm. She wanted the class to end. She wanted to go home. The silence bored her, and the teacher's voice made it worse as it buzzed in her head like a bee. However, there are is a certain kind of silence she simply adores—the one when she is around the young man Uchiha. The lad was silent and reserved, not really into idle chat, and only speaking when the circumstances really call for it. Nonetheless, Sakura felt comfortable around him, sometimes, ever welcome. In some peculiar way they manage to communicate with each other without using words. How it happens, though, remains unfathomable, and Sakura is okay with that. She need not really know the reason behind it. What she simply knows is that there is a connection between them. A bond.

Sakura is not sure on what to call their relationship. "Just friends" is such a severe understatement, considering that they share the same roof and are quite intimate (embraces and kissing, but no sex. Sakura made a promise to herself that if ever the Uchiha starts a move on it, she would really bust his family jewels. Thankfully, no advances have been made.). But Sakura was not really sure if they were officially lovers. True, she had learned to love the beautiful brooding boy, but she was not sure if he really, truly loved her. The incident by the river was some sort of proof, but she believed it was not concrete enough. She wanted to hear Uchiha Sasuke to tell her straight to her face what he truly feels like what other men do to their beloved, so that her head would not hurt so much thinking whether he does or does not. The onyx-eyed lad was not the expressive type, and knew that well enough, but she wanted concrete answer. Was it too much for a girl, and a very confused one at that, to ask?

Sakura decided she would make him tell her.

o-0-O-0-o

Uchiha Sasuke felt uneasy at the glances his female companion was giving him. It seems as though she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself to express it. Sighing, he set down his chopsticks and met her eyes. "What?" he asked, exasperated.

Her jade eyes blinked as she cocked her head to the side. "What _what_?" she asked in return.

Another sigh escaped the young man's lips. Truly, the lass were feigning innocence when they both know that there is something going on in her mind. "What _what what?"_ He suddenly realized that he sounded odd, and quickly continued, "You've been stealing glances at me since we began dinner. Care telling me why?"

Sakura blushed as shade of crimson. "I-I wasn't. Really!" she raised her arms in an attempt to make her statement look genuine, but the action and the tone of her voice was too conscious, it looked very fake. A corner of the lad's lips curled up which made her blush deeper. Folding her hands back to her lap, she sighed, "Fine, you win."

He placed an elbow on the table and propped his head on his palm. "So?"

"I was just wondering…" she began, "Goddamnit! I can't say it! Not to you!" her eyes were wipe open as she was on a fit of hysterics, and it made Sasuke more curious.

"No, tell me."

Sakura wanted to cry. She was too embarrassed to ask. "Promise you won't laugh at me?"

He nodded.

"Promise you won't think I'm weird?"

"You're already weird." Sakura flashed him an evil look. "Kidding, yeah."

"Promise you won't hate me?"

"For God's sake, Sakura, it's not as if you murdered somebody!"

"Fine! I was just wondering if were together 'cause we're all kissy-kissy and we live together! Together, for God's sake, Sasuke-kun, I'm just wondering if we're together!" she cried, imitating the tone he used. She found herself standing up. She couldn't believe she said that. She wanted the ground below her to crack open and the earth to swallow her, never to be seen again. Her face reddened even more (if it was still possible) when she saw the Uchiha's lips crack into a rare smile and heard him chuckle. "You're laughing!" she whined.

"No, no, I'm not." he replied, forcing his laughter back. For a minute there, he was worried about her. He thought that maybe her parents found out where she was staying or something to that extent. "What do you think?"

"Don't return the question; it's you I'm asking!" An embarrassed Sakura was quite scary, Sasuke had to admit. He picked up his chopsticks and calmly brought a slice of tomato to his lips, chewing and swallowing it with such composure that made Sakura want to rip his hair off his beautiful head. Was he making fun of her? "Answer!" she demanded and banged her palms on the table, making the cups and glasses wobble as if they, too, were scared. Sakura regretted the action a second later as pain seared through her palms as if burning.

Sasuke looked at her and spoke in the same calm voice. "Hn."

Sakura shrieked and ran to her room, pulling her hair and blushing like crazy.

After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, Sasuke stepped outside Sakura's room. He placed his ear against the door, and listened. When he heard no sound, he quietly took the doorknob and twisted it open. The broken lock of the room prevented the young woman to shut herself in.

Sakura heard the door squeak open and looked up to her head to see her visitor. She was lying on his bed, tired after a round of twisting and turning and punching the pillow in an effort to cope with the butterflies in her stomach. Though his answer made her heart thump wildly and her actions uncontrollable, it reassured her that at least her feelings were not left unrequited. A warm and fuzzy feeling enveloped her.

Sasuke sat himself on his desk chair and stared at Sakura. "Are you done having your fit?"

Sakura glared at him. "Yes, thank you very much."

"Gutsy today, are we?" He shifted on his seat. Now that she's far from her old self, Sasuke liked her ever more. She wasn't like those other girls who would throw themselves at his feet and follow him around. She was sometimes annoying, though, but not to the makes-you-want-to-punch-their-teeth kind of annoying. He usually reserved that classification for his fangirls. To him, she was the makes-you-want-to-kiss-her kind of annoying.

Sakura sat up and peered at him. "Hah, I guess so. I'm sorry about earlier. I was kinda-"

"Surprised. I know."

Sakura grinned. "You know why?"

He shook his head.

"Because you actually said it."

A small smile grazed his lips.

o-0-O-0-o

Neji frowned at the sight of his opponent. The auburn-haired girl was standing beside her motorcycle, her arms crossed. She met Neji's gaze and flashed him a grin, which made the Hyuuga avert his gaze.

Up to that moment, he still couldn't believe that his opponent was a girl. He would gladly lose to anyone except a girl. It was too much for his pride to bear. So, he ordered for a rematch, and it was good that the girl—whoever she was—was also thinking about it. But despite all that, Neji would have to admit that the girl was good.

Really good.

He straightened and walked to his motorcycle when he heard someone announce that the race was about to start. He grabbed his helmet and it in his head and mounted his motorcycle. He stole a glance to his opponent, but his view was obstructed when Kazuhiko popped in front of him.

"Neji!" he called, his voice muffled by the helmet Neji was wearing, "You go show her what you've got! Beat her ass!"

Neji nodded and turned on his motor. For some reason, Kazuhiko's words sounded just… wrong. He suddenly felt like a pervert.

Shaking the weird thought in his head, he focused his gaze on the street that will serve as the racetrack before him. It was a long straight stretch, quite unlike their previous course. The race facilitators decided that it would be best if they use a straight tack this time, since they wanted to know who really was the faster racer; not the more technical one.

"Hello guys!" said the same man who was the announcer. "Tooo-night, we have a rematch!" the crowd cheered. "It's Whirlwind Hyuuga versus Motor Mistress Tenten! Yep, you heard right, everyone, Mistress! A girl! For those who missed the race the other week, the unidentified racer who was against Whirlwind Hyuuga was actually a girl!"

Hyuuga Neji felt his annoyance rising. The announcer need not to remind him that he was almost beaten by a girl—that's exactly why he ordered for a rematch to appease his wounded ego. He wanted to scoff at the crowd which wowed at the mention of the female racer. The Motor Mistress waved at them.

He smirked. _Let's see if you can still wave at them like that after the race._

The two racers went like a bullet through the road as soon as they heard the gunshot signal. The spectators were stunned at how quick these two had gone from zero to top speed. The two racers were flattened close to their vehicles to reduce the resistance of the air. The pallid-eyed lad took a quick glance to his left and was annoyed to see the other on his side. She was good.

But not good enough, he thought.

At that very moment, he pulled on the throttle and pushed himself back that he was sitting closer to the motocycle's tail. This action of his made his speed drop down. The female overtook him, her sped not failing her.

Hyuuga Neji smirked.

He let go of the brakes and flattened himself even more against the motorbike's body, making him zip through the road, quickly catching up with the other racer and in another second, overtaking her. To the spectators, he was nothing more than a blur of silver. An arrogant grin spread through his lips as he saw through his side mirror that the Motor Mistress tried to bring her body closer to her motorbike in an attempt to spawn more speed. Too bad she was already at her limit.

Hyuuga Neji passed the finish line accompanied by an explosion of cheer coming from the audience. It was an epic race. He pulled on his brakes until his motor slowed down to a stop. A few moments later, his opponent went by the finish line as well. Now, Neji proved to everyone that he, definitely, was the better racer.

"That was aaaaa-mazing!" shouted the announcer through his megaphone. He, too, couldn't contain his exhilaration from the race. "Both of them are mind-blowing racers! But Whirlwind Hyuuga proved that he is better!" Neji took off his helmet and waved lazily to the crowd, a smug smile on his lips.

The crowd had begun to disperse after this announcement. Neji casually towed his motorcycle to where Kazuhiko was chatting with some man when a voice called to him.

"Hey."

He turned around and caught something that was thrown to him. He looked at it. It was an energy drink. Glancing up to look at the person, he saw a woman whose brown hair was tied in two buns on the top of her head.

"That was amazing, y'know." she said. "Congratulations, you beat me two times in a row already." The Motor Mistress gave him a wide grin and gave him an unwomanly gesture. "Damnit."

Neji smirked as her opened the can and brought it to his lips. The woman in no way acted like one, but he couldn't help but notice that she is quite pretty. "You were quite good, too. But I believe it was your fate to lose to me. Twice."

She grinned and stretched her arm, offering her hand. "My name's Tenten."

Tsuzuku.

A/n: Hello! Yay new chapter! Neji and Tenten know each other now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh, about the rating thing, I decided to keep it at T. Yes, T.

This fic is almost nearing its end, and I hope you'll continue to support this until that last chapter. Don't be sad though, because as soon as this is over, there will be another Sasusaku fic from me. I'm actually working on it already, so stay tuned for it. And no, I won't give a teaser, I'm paranoid about somebody stealing my idea. Huuhuu.

Thanks for reading, R&R!

P.S. I want to crossdress! LOL! XD


	17. Passing

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 17: Passing

Sakura ambled past the tree-lined avenue, taking a detour before going home. She felt like walking under the shade of the willow trees while enjoying the gentle beating of the summer air against her skin. High school was almost over. The final exams ended earlier that day and they were given a week off before the grades would be released for graduation. Her heart swelled at the thought that she would be in college within a few months, studying to be doctor, a profession which she dreamed of since she was a little girl. To think that she was going to study in Fire Country University delighted her. It was the best and the biggest university in their country and getting there was never easy. The entrance exam was considered to be the most difficult, among other universities. And Sakura passed the exam, admitting her to her first program choice.

She was actually quite surprised that her male housemate also passed the exam. Well, _pass_ would not be the best word to describe it, but Sasuke managed to achieve a score of 74.68 on the exam—very close to the 75 passing score. He was currently on the waiting list, but Sakura was rather sure that he could get in if he could pass the interview, which she heard was not that very much of a challenge. After almost a week of staying with the lad, she found out that he was actually smart, just lazy.

The rosy-haired young woman took a deep breath as she glanced at the setting sun across the horizon. It was truly a beautiful sight. Smiling, she quickened her pace, deciding that she will be cooking a little feast for Sasuke and herself when she arrived home.

o-0-O-0-o

Uchiha Sasuke was roused by the smell of an exquisite mixture of spices and meat that filled the air. He had been sleeping on the couch when Sakura came, exhausted from his late night cramming session. He always had the habit of only studying the night before an exam, since he wasn't really the type of person to make it a daily routine to read one's lessons.

He entered the kitchen and saw Sakura setting down a plate of roast something on the table. Along with it were other plates containing other delicious-looking viands, and to his delight, tomatoes. He cleared his throat which made the cook look at him.

Her eyes sparkled when she saw him. "Oh Sasuke-kun, I was about to wake you up."

Sasuke responded by a small nod and made his way to the table, pulling a chair for himself. He plopped down on it and scanned the table. "What's this?"

Sakura followed suit and sat herself as well. "I was thinking of making a little feast for us when the exams are done, so here." she said, proudly gesturing on the table. "I think we deserve it, anyway."

Uchiha Sasuke smiled and picked up his chopsticks and shoved a slice of meat in his mouth. Sakura watched him as he chewed and swallowed it. "It's good." he said, his dark eyes looking at her.

Sakura smiled and began eating as well. "Well, I'm glad you like it. I sure am glad the exams are over."

"I just want to graduate." remarked Sasuke.

Sakura looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Why? You're not going to college?"

He swallowed another mouthful before her replied, "I think."

Green eyes widened in disbelief. "But, you passed in FCU! It's not like anybody can!"

"I'm 74.68."

"But you're on the waiting list, Sasuke-kun. And we all know that the interview is just a load of crap because **all **the waitlisted applicants get in eventually. Don't throw this chance away, Sasuke-kun! A small fraction of the students manage to get in there—and being waitlisted is just as good as passing!"

Sasuke thought for a moment while he looked at her. Her chest was heaving due to the lack of air on her lungs cause by her lengthy speech. "I'll think about it."

"Don't think about it, Sasuke-kun. Do it."

He couldn't help but smile.

o-0-O-0-o

The days passed in a happy blur filled with fun. Sakura and Sasuke spent them either at Kazuhiko's shop, or somewhere Sakura wanted to go (Sakura managed to drag him into the strip mall, the grocery, and even the park. Every. Single. Time.)

To Sasuke, the times spent with her were something like a therapy. Around her, he felt that he was able to slip back into his old self before his family's tragedy. She was, to him, was everything he lost that day, only coming back to him in the form of a lovely maiden.

_Friends._

_Family._

_Love._

Sasuke remembered the time when he tried teaching Sakura to ride the motorcycle. He grinned at the fond memory. They were at Kazuhiko's shop, watching the store for him while the owner went in some errand.

"Sakura, would you like to learn to ride a motorcycle?" he asked out of the blue.

She blinked. "Yeah?" Sasuke was not sure if it was affirmative or not, but he taught her, anyway. However, she terribly failed at balancing.

"For goodness' sake, Sakura, can't you balance yourself?" He would say, frustration manifesting himself on the lad's usually passive face.

"How could I balance myself on this humungous thing when I can't even ride a bike?!"

And so, the motorcycle lesson turned into a bicycle-riding one. Sasuke took his old bike from the shed of his house and after changing some parts and oiling, looked quite new. Sakura delighted that the lad would really teach her, for cycling was one of her frustrations.

Sakura learned quickly, for Sasuke was patient—if patience means getting hotheaded if the student doesn't get to do it on the first try. He would roll his eyes and cross his arms whenever she fell from the bike and start to walk away, shaking his head, only to return a second later and making Sakura get back on the bike. But yes, it was being patient means, in Uchiha Sasuke's dictionary. And at the end of the day, Sakura managed to ride it without falling, though her legs were bruised and painful.

The week ended and it was time for them to attend school again, but only to get their grades and hear whatever announcements the school administration would give about the upcoming graduation.

A crowd formed around the bulletin board in the school's lobby. Excited and nervous seniors were looking for their names from the list which also held their exam grades and class rankings.

A pink head appeared from the entrance and squeezed herself through the thick crowd. "Coming through, coming through, excuse me!" Sakura squeaked, pushing her way towards the front. The swarm of students parted to make way for her when they saw her, and started whispering to each other how envious they are of her score.

Sakura moved her eyes up and down the list, looking for her name. He heart skipped a beat when she found it neatly printed at the very top of the list.

_**Haruno Sakura, final grade: 98.25, batch ranking: 1**_

She couldn't help but break into a broad smile and started to scan for another name, which she quickly found. She let out a sigh of relief while she clutched her hand to her chest.

_**Uchiha Sasuke, final grade: 77.89, batch ranking: 56**_

_Not bad. Not bad at all, _Sakura thought. At least he passed, and was not at the lower part of the lower half out of a hundred students. But she could help but feel frustrated. He could have done better if he studied regularly.

After memorizing hers and Sasuke score, turned her heel to leave when Hinata appeared, her cheeks slightly flushed from what seemed running. "Sakura-chan," she said, "Kurenai-sensei told me to tell you to go to her office."

"Oh." she murmured and nodded to her friend. "Thank you, Hinata-chan. Have you seen your grades?"

"Yes. I'm sixth."

Sakura congratulated her and made her way to the teacher's office. She knocked on the door and slid it open when a voice called for her to come in.

"Good morning, Kurenai-sensei. You called for me?"

The older woman turned from her chair ad smiled when she saw her student. "Oh, Sakura. Yes, I did. You really did a great job this school year, just like the past ones." She stood up and took an envelope from her desk. "You're graduating valedictorian of the batch. I'm sure your parents a so proud of you." She handed the envelope to Sakura.

A small lump formed at Sakura's throat. Nobody, except Sasuke and Hinata, knew about her and her parents. Feigning a smile, she nodded and replied, "I guess so."

Kurenai chuckled and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Continue working hard, Sakura. I'm certain that you'll go a long way."

Sakura smiled timidly at her teacher. If only her parents appreciated her like how Kurenai did.

o-0-O-0-o

"What are you going to do about this?" asked Uchiha Sasuke after reading the contents of the envelope Kurenai gave Sakura. Inside of it was an invitation to the graduation, like the ones every graduating student was given, except that it also came with a ribbon pin with "valedictorian" written on it, and two other ribbons with "parent", which was probably the reason why Sakura looked glum. Graduation was scheduled at Friday next week.

"I don't know." she replied, hugging her pillow tighter. She almost literally threw herself on the couch the moment she came home, and had not move from her spot since. Sakura knew it wouldn't be possible to just walk in their house and tell her parents to attend her graduation because their daughter was graduating valedictorian and everybody expects them to come. But she knew attending the graduation without her parents was out of the question as well.

Uchiha Sasuke cast an apprehensive glance to her female housemate. "Yeah, but you have to do something."

Sakura sighed and sat herself up. She took the invitation from Sasuke's hands and looked at it. "I though of something, but I doubt if it would work."

"You wouldn't really know until you try."

o-0-O-0-o

Mr. Haruno opened the mailbox and retrieved its contents, going scanning their envelopes as he went inside and sat down with his wife. He took a sip of his coffee when he noticed an unaddressed envelope. He tore it open and out felt a folded piece of cardboard and two ribbons.

"It's from Sakura." he stated as he noticed the handwriting at the back of the cardboard which he figured out was a graduation invitation. _You don't have to come if you don't want to._

His wife's eyes widened at the mention of her daughter's name and took the invitation from her husband. "She's the valedictorian." she whispered and looked at her husband who was then inspecting the ribbons with the word "parent" written on them. "What are we-"

"Throw these away. All of these."

Tsuzuku.

A/n: Hello there, I hope you liked this chapter of APWCH. Only a few more chapters left, and I'm both sad and excited about it. I pity Sakura in this story. I can't believe I made her suffer like that. Ah, well, let's wait for this plot to resolve and see what will happen.

Thanks so much for all the reviews for the past chapters! R&R on this one too!


	18. Always

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 18: Always

Haruno Sakura placed the last dish on the rack and dried her hands on her apron. After untying its knot, she pulled it off over her head and draped it over the backrest of one of the chairs to dry. It was two days since she slipped the invitation into her parent's mailbox and it seems that the situation hasn't changed a bit. Deep inside her, the hope of resolving the situation ebbed as days passed.

Sasuke could see that she was deeply affected by it. She may not speak to him directly about it, but he could see the unhappiness manifest itself with her actions, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Knowing that he could not really do anything to help with the situation, he just made it a duty to himself to make her feel happier, at least. He would accompany her whenever she goes out to get some groceries, something he usually would not do; or just talk to her about anything. He could feel that whenever there is silence in the air, the girl's mind would withdraw itself into a shell of self-pity; and in his attempt to keep that silence at bay, he actually amazed himself that he could be rather talkative (in instances like this only, though).

And so here he was, walking through one of the aisles in the grocery and pushing the shopping cart while Sakura compared two brands of sanitary pads. He couldn't believe that he was standing at the very aisle he avoided like a plague just a few weeks ago. Ah, the things he would do for her…

Finally, after deciding to get the pads with light green wrappers, she tossed them into the cart. Sasuke inwardly sighed in relief and began to push the trolley. He watched Sakura stroll before him, her jade eyes looking at the list on her hand. She looked at him, and said, "Let's go get some coffee."

They strolled through the many aisles, searching for the product. The rose-haired lass walked ahead of the Uchiha, her head turning side to side in search for the aromatic produce. Sasuke's gaze was on her back. Somehow, the bustling atmosphere of the grocery managed to lighten up her mood. He was quite relieved at the sight of her, somewhat like her old self again—smiling, humming to herself a tuneless tune. He snorted inwardly as he remembered that Sakura was not born a singer—he learned that the hard way. He smiled at the fond memory. It was when he came home one night after going to Kazuhiko's. The lights were turned off—which was quite normal because Sakura usually slept early. Stepping into the house, he was greeted by the eerie sound of moaning, as if someone was in pain; dying. His heart leapt in his chest as he gazed around, trying to locate where it came from. Uchiha Sasuke would never tell, but he did not wave out the possibility of those sounds coming from ghosts—after all, a murder happened in his house. Gulping, he silently strode towards the kitchen where the sound seemed to get louder, and almost shrieked with what he saw. Almost (after all, he was Uchiha Sasuke). A figure was crouched on the floor, irradiated by a strange light. His body tensed when it slowly turned its head to his direction, only to realize it was Sakura. Apparently the girl was hungry and couldn't sleep, so she decided to make a sandwich. She was crouched before the refrigerator, trying to retrieve the bottle of strawberry jam Sasuke hid because she was "too messy". The eerie light was actually from the fridge, and the creepy sound was Sakura's singing. The hungry lass almost punched him smack on the face when he told her that she sounded like a dying animal if it weren't for the bread in her hands. He jokingly forbade her to sing, which Sakura responded to with a stuck-out tongue.

They found the coffee aisle was a couple of steps later. Sakura looked through the shelves in search for a specific brand. "Sasuke-kun, which do you like?" she asked, holding up two canisters of different brands.

He rolled his eyes sarcastically and took the one of them and dumped it in the cart. "They're just the same."

Sakura pouted and returned the other back to where she got it. She suddenly froze when she saw someone on the same aisle. Sasuke followed her gaze where it landed onto a woman probably on her late 40's with almost the same shade of hair as Sakura.

"Mom." Sakura mouthed, the dumbstruck expression not leaving her face. However it was not just Sakura who was surprised. The older woman looked quite stunned as well, as she walked towards her daughter.

The other woman cast a glance to the lad who stood with her daughter and back to Sakura. "So, this is why you left? I raised you well—I can't believe you turned into a whoring slut!" she almost spat the words into Sakura's face as she whispered it harshly.

Sasuke saw the muscles on Sakura's neck tense. "I am not a slut." she spat back. Sasuke stood there, his fists clenched inside his pants pocket.

"Hah!" The older Haruno threw her head back. "Don't try to fool me, Haruno Sakura. I know the Uchiha. Isn't he the son of that deranged woman and the drug addict?! I'm sure he's as worthless as-"

A slap smack on her cheek stopped Sakura's mother. Her eyes were wide in shock. Sakura hit her. She couldn't believe it. She was petrified on her spot.

"Worthless?" Sakura hissed. "You're the one who is worthless. You and dad. You're both worthless. You're always sucked up into that stupid prejudice of yours, and you made my life miserable. Now you have the nerve to tell me he's the worthless one? Why, I'd choose him over you any day!" she did not care that the other shoppers in the aisle were looking at them. She did not care. She did not care at all.

The older woman knit her brows but did not speak nor move. Sakura was staring into her, her emerald gaze unwavering. Unease spread through Sasuke, he took Sakura by the wrist and led her out of the store before anything else happens. The groceries would have to wait.

Sasuke wordlessly strode to his parked motorcycle, Sakura in tow. He straddled the vehicle and waited for the young woman to get on before he turned on the engine and rode off. A heavy silence hung between them as no one made a sound, the silence only broken by the whirr of the engine and the sound of the wind passing through. The lad worried for Sakura. He knew that she has been going through a lot lately, and it bothered him that he could only do so little to help. After all, he was not that an expert in family relationship since he came from a wreck of one. But he did not have to be an expert either to figure out that he could, and if he would, help, even just a little.

o-0-O-0-o

Hyuuga Neji smirked at the bun-haired female before him. She was obviously awed when he showed her his custom engine. "Now that explains it!" she quipped while rubbing her chin, her chocolate eyes fixed upon the intricate wiring of the other racer's machine. "I can't believe something like that exists!"

"It's not complete." he murmured, crouching down to replace the engine cover. "I'm a just pilot tester for this."

Tenten shrugged and pocketed her hands. She and Hyuuga Neji have became quite friends after their rematch. She appreciated that the pearl-eyed young man did not look down on her and her racing because she was a woman. Little did she know that the Hyuuga was actually impressed by that fact. "So, you mean it's still incomplete? I think it's flawless."

"Flawless in speed, yes," Neji replied. "But it's hard to control. I had a hard time bringing it to a stop last time. Did you notice that I almost reached the end of the avenue before I got it to stop?"

Tenten furrowed her brows and tried to remember. "Oh, yeah. I thought that was for show."

A cross between a chuckle and a snort escaped from the man's lips. He was always caught off guard by the girl's unexpected remarks, yet her naivety never fails to charm him. She wasn't like the other girls, Neji noted, that only cared for their vanity—there was not a trace of it in Tenten. It was as if she was a man, only with breasts and a uterus.

The sound of Tenten's racing boots grating against the soil made Neji turn and look at her. She was wearing a toothy, mischievous grin. "Say, Neji. Let's have a mock race right now." Her hand was in a fist and raised in a challenging gesture. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.

"Let's just have lunch; you'll end up losing again, anyway." And he started his engine.

Tenten pouted. "Fine, but you're gonna have to pay for it!" The Hyuuga nodded slightly, a bit of a frown appearing on his face. "Can we have pizza?" She, too, was on her motorcycle as well.

"Fine."

o-0-O-0-o

A torturous hour passed since Sasuke and Sakura came home and the usually louder of the two immediately shut herself in Sasuke's room. The young man knew the pinkette was distressed, and waited outside the door though he knew that it wasn't locked. He half-expected that the woman would go out on her accord. But now, his patience was already thin. He grabbed the doorknob and gruffly pushed the door ajar.

He saw a pink head turn slightly from the sound. His dark orbs met her jade ones, and Sakura quickly averted her gaze. "Sakura," he began.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun." she mumbled. "You got involved."

"Ch." scoffed the Uchiha while seating himself on the mattress with a soft _plop_. Sakura's green eyes studied his relaxed form behind the curtain of pink hair. She noted his black orbs, which usually held a stern expression looked absolutely grave.

Sakura smiled bitterly as she adjusted her position so that she could avoid the Uchiha's stare. "I guess I should just give up and—"

"You can't just give up after all that."

Jade eyes locked into onyx. Sasuke was looking at her, his brows furrowed from distaste of her sudden fickleness. "But I'm obviously losing." she said. "I thought I could make it on my own, but I was wrong. Hinata and you. You were dragged into this mess. _My _mess. And as for me… Perhaps I couldn't handle myself alone." Bitterness resounded in her words, and every syllable pierced a deep wound on Sasuke's heart. Couldn't he save anyone? Couldn't he save _her?_

A warm palm touched Sakura's tear-stained cheek and made her look up to Sasuke's face. She choked back a sob as she couldn't bear to look at him in the eye. She knew she put him in an awkward situation since the day she stayed with him—and he let her, despite knowing the risks. And now, Sakura felt like a traitor, telling him that she was mistaken and believes that she might as well give up and go back. A calloused finger wiped a cascading tear on her cheek before she even realized that she was crying. Uchiha Sasuke was always there; not saying a word, but still there.

_Always._

Her heart skipped a beat when she was pulled toward the lad's chest in an embrace. Her body relaxed a bit and she let all her self-control flee her as Sasuke's arms encircled her. She was launched in a fit of sobs a second later, only comforted by the warmth of his embrace and his gentle rocking motion.

"Do you really think it was your fault that we're dragged into this?" he was referring to Sakura's best friend and himself. A soft nod against his chest made him heave a sigh. "Sakura, it's not your fault. We're here because we chose to." His hand reached out for her chin and tilted it up so that she was looking at him. "Hinata could've refused if she wanted to. _I_ could've refused if I wanted to. But she didn't. _I_ didn't. Because we care, Sakura." He inhaled and added somewhat reluctantly, " _I_ care."

"Sasuke-kun…"

"And if you're worrying because you couldn't make it on your own," there was an unusual clench in the lad's stomach as he somewhat marveled at his own words and paused before he continued, "Remember that I'm here. Always." The uncharacteristic gentleness in his voice Sakura felt, and was about to choke another sobs when a feather-light kiss, as gentle as his words, touched her lips.

He knew, even without words, how to reassure her. Always.

Tsuzuku

A/n: Hi guys! I hope you liked this chapter! Sakura's mom is quite a bitch, good thing Sakura struck back this time, however, it seems like our poor pinkette is really having a hard time. Good thing Sasuke's there for her. Oh, I hope her mom got some sense knocked into her. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review!


	19. Little Steps, Big Steps

**A Place We Call Home**

Chapter 19: Little Steps, Big Steps

A faint rustle of paper was heard from inside the master bedroom of the Haruno residence. Within the room was a woman seated at the edge of the large bed, holding an envelope she was told to dispose. Mrs. Haruno sighed in grief at what her family had become.

Sound of footfalls approaching prompted her to slip the envelope back under the mattress as she picked up a hairbrush and ran it through her hair, which was colored very much the same as the missed daughter. The door cracked open and in stepped her husband, his dark green eyes fixed on her wife's pinkish hair which reminded him sickly of someone.

"Kentaro," his wife mumbled and he turned to her, prompting her to continue. "I saw Sakura earlier." Mrs. Haruno did not miss the wince that made its way to her husband's face as their daughter's name was now almost a taboo word in the house.

"And?" Haruno Kentaro droned, his voice icy.

"I… I miss her."

The man glared at her. "You are not missing that poor excuse for a daughter." His wife looked down and stared at the brush in her hands which belonged to Sakura.

She gave him a melancholic smile and continued as though she heard nothing. "I saw her with the Uchiha boy. It kind of reminds me of –"

"Another word from your mouth and you're going to regret it."

A glint of fear flashed through the woman's eyes as she pursed her lips into a grim line, her shoulders sagging down in defeat. She listened to the man's heavy footsteps sound again, followed by a rough thud from the door. She was alone once more.

She clutched her chest, her heart feeling heavy that it constricted her breathing. A sob was choked back and she was lying on the bed. Somehow, the sight of her daughter with the Uchiha lad reminded her of her old self.

_"Sayaka!" called a young man named Reijiro. His long dark hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, so tight that it pulled the corner of his eyes, making them look smaller than they really should._

_"Reiji." a young woman with coral hair responded; the young Sayaka. The way she was dressed stood in contrast wit the young man she was with. Her dress was made of a light, fluttery lilac material that made her look like a fragile painting while the young man was wearing worn-out jeans with rips adorning both knees and an old gray jacket over his t-shirt. But the woman never seemed to notice for she loved him for it._

_Reijiro leaned on the metal railing of the bridge, his tall and somewhat thin body stooping slightly. Sayaka's lips could not help but curl its ends up as she gazed at his relaxed form. Reijiiro always reminded her of a willow tree—long and thin, yet possessing an undeniable air of grace unique to him. "You called me." His voice was low and raspy, as if his throat was always dry._

_"Take me away." Sayaka blurted out suddenly, making him jerk away from the railing and onto the balls of his feet in surprise. He was staring at her wide-eyed. "They wanted to marry me to some son of the co-owner of the company. I can't do it, Reiji. Take me away." _

_Reijiro stared at her wordlessly, his mouth shaped like a small 'o'. He raked his mind for words in which to respond to the distressed damsel in front of him. He loved Sayaka, and would gladly take her away. But the all so sudden request from her threw him off guard. _

_"Reiji, please." Her soft gray eyes were pleading. "It's now or never. Reiji. Please."_

_Tearing his gaze from the woman before him and locking it onto the figure of the setting sun across the orange horizon, he sighed, "Meet me here tomorrow at sundown."_

_"…thank you."_

_He nodded, but did not turn to face her._

_"Reiji?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"I love you."_

_He was silent for a moment before he replied, "I, you."_

_Sayaka waited at the bridge the bridge the following day. The sky was painted a vivid hue of ginger as the sun was slowly sinking into the distance. She expected Reijiro to appear any time soon, but her dread grew as every minute passed. She waited and waited until moon was already up; yet not a trace of him came. And an hour before midnight, she was found and taken back home by their chauffeur._

_"I don't want to marry him!" cried Sayaka as she was dragged back into their large living room, her light hair sweaty and disheveled from failed attempts to fight and escape._

_"And what do you plan to do? Run off with a good-for-nothing loafer? Don't you know that I am doing this for your future?" It was her father._

_Sayaka bit her lip until it began to draw blood. Tasting as bit of the salty-sweet liquid, she spat, "Future? My future? You never cared for my future. The only thing you care about is that business of yours." Pulling her arm free from the man's grip, she added, "Ever since mother died two years ago, you've been belting out your anger on me! Because you can't accept the fact that you're the reason she died. You—you were so into your work, you didn't know how much she suffered! Sure, you were paying all her hospital bills and getting her all of her medications, but did you even visit her? What she needed the most was you. She was waiting for you. Always waiting for you… She said that she'll definitely get before if you could visit her. But you didn't come. Even when she was dying, she was still waiting, hoping that you'd see her." Tears were rolling down her cheeks, forming two bitter waterfalls. "She loved you very much."_

_The man before her went silent, unshed tears from years ago sprang forth from his eyes, threatening to spill, but never tumbling down. "It has nothing to do with this, Sayaka." he denied, venom dripping from his every syllable. "Grieving for the dead will not bring them back. Not your mother. Not your lover."_

_Sayaka's eyes went wide. "What… do you mean?" Her small fist caught the fabric of her father's collar and crumpled it, forcing her father to look at her. "What do you mean?!"_

_The man refused to look at his daughter but responded quietly. "He… is dead."_

_A hollow chuckle escaped her lips. "Dead? You've got to be kidding me. You're lying. YOU'RE LYING!" Sayaka shrieked, pounding on her father's chest. "You're lying! He isn't dead! He's not! He's not de—" Strong hands caught her flailing arms, silencing her. _

_"He is dead." He repeated. "He…died."_

_"Wha-who? How? Wh-why?" Her voice trembled as her knees gave away, sending her down onto the carpeted floor, looking shattered._

_Her father strode to the window and peered out, his back facing her. "I asked two men to give him money. Bribe him, into not meeting you." He pulled a cigar from his pocket and lighted it in agonizing slowness. He drew a breath and exhaled a puff of smoke. "He refused." _

_"Then why—"_

_"He wouldn't accept the money and tried to walk out on the men I sent. They stopped him, he fought. The men had not choice to restrain… immobilize him. They left him unconscious, knowing that he'd wake up after an hour or so… The man who had the money disappeared, while the other returned back here." He turned to Sakura. "I was seething when he told me what they did. I never told them to hurt him—what I wanted was an agreement, a deal. We went to the place and took him in the hospital. It was too late."_

_Tears fell from Sayaka's unblinking eyes. Dead. Reijiro. Dead. Her world came crashing down on her. Her only hope of escaping, her only love was gone. Gone forever. A heartbreaking howl erupted from her throat as she hit the floor with her fists. Black sorrow consumed her heart like a flame consumed wood, charring both the inside and out and leaving only a remnant, completely different from what it used to be._

_While Sayaka grieved, her father just stood there unmoving. It was not his fault. Reijiro Sakakibara dying of brain concussion is not his fault. No, not at all._

o-0-O-0-o

Tenten frowned at the article of clothing inside the paper bag the pale-eyed Hyuuga handed her. It was a purplish-gray gray dress, very much like the shade of the eyes of the man who gave it to her. "Where on Earth did you get this _thing?_" she poked the silky fabric warily like it was some weird creature.

"I just found it." He replied shortly, his body facing her, but his head deliberately turned away. The young man did not know what possessed him to give the girl a gift—a dress at that, when he was as stingy as hell and the woman seemed manlier than him if the criteria was hair.

The female racer arched an eyebrow and looked at Neji. "You found a dress in your house. Great, Neji. As if I'd believe that. Why would a man like you keep a dress in your house, you're not even—oh my god, Neji, are you ga—"

"I'm not gay!"

"But you have a dress! You said you found a dress in your house!"

"I didn't know where that came from. You're a girl so I thought I'd just give it to you."

"But Neji, you have long hair."

"Who cares? I'm a rocker. Rockers have long hair." He just threw in a random reason for he knew he would not hear the end of it if he doesn't give justification, no matter how absurd it was. Spending time with Tenten taught him that.

"It's rebonded."

"It's not."

"…I can't believe you're gay."

"I told you I'm not gay."

"You have a dress. Your hair is prettier than mine. You wash your hands before and after eating. You put a napkin on your lap when you eat. You hang out at racetracks because there are loads of hot men in there. You're gay."

"I am not gay."

"Prove it then."

Neji smirked at the challenge. Gay eh? Let see if she still thinks I'm gay after this, he thought. He abruptly pressed his lips against her in a sudden kiss, sending Tenten's auburn eyes wide. He hungrily moved his lips against hers, devouring her. He pulled away later, the smirk still playing on his lips. Gay eh?

"What the hell was that Neji?" the question sounded more like a statement. Somehow, Neji felt relieved that she wasn't angry. He was quite surprised that she didn't punched him earlier. Perhaps she was shocked, he thought.

"The kiss of gay." he jibed. Tenten grinned.

Tenten laughed heartily, her head bouncing up and about her shoulders. "It's fine with me if you're gay. I'll turn you into a man anyway." She said and wrapped her arms around his neck, and continued the deed Neji started.

o-0-O-0-o

Sakura stirred in her sleep, shifting over to her left side. But somehow, a weight around her waist prevented her. Cracking her eyes open, she wearily rubbed them as they got accustomed to the light and stared at the object that hindered her movement. It was an arm. Tracing the length of it by her eyes to its owner, she saw Sasuke stretched on his side, quietly sleeping next to her. The young woman felt flush rise in her cheeks as she realized that she had cried herself to sleep. She smiled at the thought that Sasuke chose to stay with her.

She gently lifted his arm and removed it from her torso; lightly setting it down on the bed. Sakura was aware of the proximities of their bodies. Normally, she would flinch; feeling uneasy, if she came this close with somebody from the opposite sex—but there was something different about Sasuke. He possessed a certain something that makes her feel at ease, but she could not place a finger on what it was exactly. For all she knew, the Uchiha's presence reassures her, no matter how bad the situation she was in; and she was thankful for him for all of it. So to trust him is something instinctive for Sakura.

Sasuke's wrinkling of his brow did not escape Sakura's jade gaze, and his eyes reluctantly opened, revealing his dark orbs of night. He blinked, trying to adjust his vision and was soon looking at the female propped up by her elbows next to him. Pushing himself up into a sitting position, he inwardly noted that Sakura looked more unperturbed than she was yesterday.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." She murmured, her voice still heavy with sleep which somewhat amused the lad. He nodded in response, tossing the blanket off his lower half and proceeding to stand up. Sakura watched him scratch his head lazily, his dark spikes even more unruly from sleep—she had to admit, Sasuke still looked gorgeous though her just jumped out of bed—there was something about his just-woke-up look that made him irresistible, adding to his appeal. She smiled slightly and shook her head, silently laughing at herself for thinking such thoughts, and at the same time congratulating herself for having somebody like him.

"Better?"

Spring green eyes locked into inky ones and Sakura replied, "Yeah, much better." She followed Sasuke's suit and stood up as well and folded the blanket neatly. "I have so many things left to do. I can't let _that_ get into me."

A small grin was his reply to Sakura's newfound courage. Pushing himself off the wall he was leaning on, he followed Sakura out to the kitchen and settled himself on one of the chairs while the other busied herself with boiling some water.

"Oops, we have no coffee." Sakura announce, her voice disappointed with the sudden realization. She turned to Sasuke, holding up an empty canister of the powdered drink.

The lad raised his eyebrows nonchalantly and paced towards the counter. "Nevermind." He said, grabbing a slice of bread and holding it between his teeth. He noted that they were almost out of supplies which meant he needed to get oon a race soon. Sakura grinned at his disinterest and simply nibbled on a slice of bread, like him. She quietly paced to the living room and took a sheet of paper, grabbed a pen and started writing. "What's that?" Sasuke asked.

"My valedictory speech." she replied after swallowing the last bit of her food. "Kurenai-sensei told me the theme of our graduation so that I could make a speech related to it."

"That's bull." He remarked, making Sakura turn to look at him. "You're supposed to say whatever you want in a speech. Not the other way around."

His comment earned a small smile from Sakura. "Well, you're right. But that the way it goes." Sasuke just shrugged and went outside to his motorcycle while Sakura continued scribbling down her speech. Somehow, Sakura understood his point. It was much like life.

Tsuzuku

**A/n:** Sorry for the delay on this chapter! I finished two papers or school last week so I didn't had the chance to write this. I really enjoyed writing that scene with Tenten and Neji—a somewhat light moment in this chapter. Sorry if you think Sakura's mom's flash was a bit draggy. I tried! I hope you liked this chap! Thanks for reading and please review! Happy smiles!


	20. The Man on the Swing

A Place We Call Home

Chapter 20: The Man on the Swing

Kazuhiko believed himself to be a very patient man. He could wait in lines for hours and not a single word of complaint would come from his mouth. He could stand a slow day with no customers. Heck, he could even tolerate customers who take forever to decide and eventually end up buying nothing from his shop. See? He is a very, very patient man.

However, what he was currently watching could prove to be the limit of the very patient Kazuhiko. Not in a bad way, of course, but it was something new to him and he wasn't used to it at all. Normally, it would take Uchiha Sasuke an hour at most to tune his motorcycle in preparation for a race—and he had been watching the said young man tune it for the last 3 hours.

"Come on, Sasuke." he called. Kazuhiko was casually perched atop a barstool he got from a garage sale. Its metal footrest was almost covered in grease courtesy of Kazuhiko work boots. "Shop's supposed to be closed two hours ago. I'm gonna miss Fire Country Idol. Can't you just do it at your place?"

Sasuke stretched out his toned arm, dirty with grease, to grab a wrench. With a quick turn of his arm, the nut he was supposed to attach was now anchored firmly in place. "I could have," he replied, not bothering to look at the older man. "but you have the tools. I don't."

Kazuhiko's face twisted in what seemed to be both exasperation and amusement. "That's it?" he cried, jumping off the seat in an almost child-like manner. "I would've appreciated it if you've told me that earlier." He bent down and started gathering the various tools scattered around Sasuke's work area. The raven-haired man finally looked at him, his eyes confused as he watched Kazuhiko dump the greasy tools in a bucket he found lying around.

"Tools." said Kazuhiko as he set down the bucketful of them in front of the Uchiha. "Now, can I close the shop so I can watch my show?"

A dark eyebrow rose, and a smile almost appeared on Sasuke's lips. Almost. "Hn." was his reply. He gingerly straightened up and sauntered towards the lavatory at the side of the shop and scrubbed the dirt and grime off his hands and arms. He emerged from the bathroom just as Kazuhiko finished pulling down the folding metal shutters of the shop. "Ciao!" chirped Kazuhiko and Sasuke could swear that he saw him bunny hop onto his motorcycle before speeding off away. He scoffed and took the bucket of tools and rode home.

He was not even in front of his apartment when he saw Sakura from the distance. The soft pink of her hair beneath the streetlights was hard to miss. She must have caught sight of him as well for she stopped walking in small circles. He slowed down into a stop and propped himself upright with his foot when he was in his yard. He was greeted with an apprehensive Sakura as soon he pulled off his helmet.

"Sasuke-kun! Where have you been? I was worried when you didn't come home for dinner. And I know you; you never miss eating dinner at home because you're too stingy to eat out. You could not imagine how worried I was!" said Sakura all too fast. She was like that when she was worried, speaking in torrents and then huffing and puffing by the end. Sasuke waited for it to come. Three. Two. One. Heave. There.

He placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. He said, "You shouldn't have worried. I could take care of myself." Sakura just gave him a look which read "I know, but I don't care." Sasuke eased to his side and turned the knob and entered the house. He was greeted by the fait scent of fish in the air.

"Have you eaten?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head. "I was waiting."

After they had supper, Sakura proceeded to clear the dishes while Sasuke excused himself and quietly slipped outside, back to his machine. Absentmindedly, he tinkered on it. His mind drifted back to the conversation he had with Sakura during supper.

"Sasuke-kun?" The young man looked up from his food, a wordless gesture urging her to go on. "We're graduating tomorrow."

"Aa." was his reply, taking her words as a statement of fact rather than an implication of something else which he knew was what she meant. He was fully aware that they were ending their lives as high school students the next day, but he did not want to talk about it—he avoided thinking about it. He didn't have a plan, anyways.

"Yeah." He heard Sakura respond. He could hear her disappointment on her voice from his answer. "I was wondering about your plans after graduation." she inquired.

Sasuke put some rice in his mouth and took as much time chewing and swallowing it. Finally, he set down his bowl and chopsticks. "I haven't thought about it." He replied, searching her eyes for a reaction. He though he saw a split-second flicker of emotion in her jade eyes, perhaps from surprise or a similar emotion. Wanting to let go of the topic, he slowly stood up, saying, "That food was good, Sakura." and then ambling back outside to his motorcycle. He haven't really though about his 74.68 and what to do with it.

Sasuke woke up to the sound of hurried footsteps walking back and forth across his wooden floor. He rubbed his eyes grumpily and quickly found the culprit for the noise. Sakura was pacing around the room, already wearing her white graduation dress, and obviously looking for something. Her eyes lit up when she caught him awake. "Good morning Sasuke-kun! It's good that you're up already, I was going to wake you up in a minute or so." She said, her right hand pulling her hair away from her face in a ponytail-like manner. "By the way, have you seen the brush? I couldn't find it anywhere."

Sasuke shifted on the bed and dug his hand underneath the covers. When he pulled it back, his fingers were already clutching the said brush.

Sakura clapped her hands and took it from him. "So there's where it was all along. No wonder I couldn't find it." Then she retreated to the bathroom. The young man rubbed his eyes once again and stretched. He wasn't going to tell Sakura the reason why it was on the bed was he used it to scratch his back in the middle of the night. Nah, definitely not worth getting bonked on the head for.

Moments later Sasuke found himself being dragged outside by a very nervous Sakura. Apparently people who would be receiving honors would have to be at the school auditorium much earlier than those who were just there to graduate. Soon after, when they arrived at the auditorium, Sakura was attacked by teachers who talked to her about how the ceremony will take place and other things like speeches and whatnots. It was fun watching her as she flipped through her speech; he especially liked it when she pouts—a little habit of hers. But he soon got tired of standing around and being told to move out of the way by the logistics team who were carrying extra chairs for the attendees. He cast one look at Sakura and saw she was still preoccupied with her speech. She wouldn't notice.

He stepped out of the auditorium, his hands in his pocket in the usual Uchiha Sasuke-like manner. The ceremony wasn't going to start in an hour so he decided to wander around. He thought of Sakura's parents. Sasuke knew that even though on the surface, Sakura seemed happy, deep inside she was pining for the both of them, even more so today. And what hurt him more is that he couldn't do anything about it.

He roughly kicked a pebbled and watched it soar in a perfect arc and then land again on solid ground with a distinct "clunk". He absentmindedly kicked the said pebble again, following it wherever it happened to land just to kick it again. It was particularly senseless, but he was killing time anyway.

The pebble eventually landed in a bush. Sasuke frowned; disappointed that somehow it refused to be knocked around anymore. He lifted his head up and surveyed the area where it took him. It seemed to be an old park, abandoned, by the looks the foliage which was kept untended. He took a few steps forward, recognizing it was the same park he used to frequent as a kid. He frowned as he remembered the person who always took him there.

The rusty steel tubings of the swing came to his view. His eyes traveled downwards and was quite surprised to see that someone was sitting on one of the swings, not afraid that the feeble metal would give away more sooner than later. The figure was wearing a black sweatshirt despite it being the middle of summer. A small "crunch" sound filled the air as Sasuke stepped on a dried, fallen twig, causing the hunched figure to tense up, but not look his way.

"I'm surprised I found you here." The voice was deep, but oddly, hauntingly familiar. It was too familiar that it hurt him.

Sasuke forced the lump in his throat back. He took a deep breath to steady himself and murmured, "Itachi.", his voice shaking. The man on the swing released his grip on the chains and slowly turned his head to his right, but did not turn his eyes to look.

"Little brother."

Tsuzuku.

A/n: I am a bad person. I updated VERY VERY VERY late and left you with a cliffhanger. Very bad indeed. Whack me with a review loves! Hope you like this chapter. I'm writing the next one now.


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